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For
Immediate Release: February 3, 2007
Contact: Joshua J. Darling (dobrian@binghamton.edu)
Phone: 607-777-6478
Bearcat
women's basketball takes "Grrr" out of Albany's Big
Purple Growl with 70-60 win
BU's
Kurpniece posts seventh career 20-point game with season-high
22 points
Box
Score
ALBANY,
N.Y.- Junior forward Laine Kurpniece
(Riga, Lativa) and senior guard Rebecka
Lindgren (Oskarshamn, Sweden) combined for 39 points on 13-of-17
shooting from the field, leading Binghamton (8-14, 4-5 AE) to
a 70-60 victory over Albany (7-15, 3-6 AE) in an America East
Conference women's basketball game on Saturday evening at SEFCU
Arena. The win for the Bearcats moves them into a tie with Maine
for fourth place in the America East Conference.
Following an Albany basket at the 19:24 mark of the second half
that gave the Great Danes a 36-35 lead the Bearcats responded
with a game changing 18-6 run over the next 8:45 that put them
ahead 53-42 with 10:39 to play. That run began with three straight
baskets from Lindgren, including back-to-back three-pointers,
and 6-of-6 shooting from the foul line from Kurpniece as the
two players combined for 16 of the team's 18 points during the
stretch.
The Bearcats would keep the Great Danes at bay the rest of the
way as they went on to record their second straight conference
win with the 70-60 decision.
In the first half, Binghamton rallied from deficits of 10-2 and
19-10 to close to within 25-21 on three-pointer by junior guard
Laura Sario (Espoo, Finland) at the
6:16 mark. A 6-2 spurt by Albany extended the lead to 31-23 with
3:01 left before the break. At that point the Bearcats mounted
a 12-3 run to take the lead 35-34 just before the break behind
a rebound put back from junior forward Juta
Jahilo (Helsinki, Finland) and a long jumper from Lindgren
with one second remaining in the first half.
"I thought it was a nice effort in a tough environment"
said Binghamton head coach Rich Conover. "We handled the
pressure well and made a nice run at the beginning of the second
half and never looked back. It wasn't the way we drew it up but
we'll definitely take it. Laine did a wonderful job for us tonight,
taking it to Albany and drawing some fouls on their posts. She
knows when she's got a shot and when she doesn't and tonight
she had quite a few".
Senior guard Amanda Ward netted a team-high 16 points and added
five rebounds while junior forward Kristin Higy added 13 points
as the only other Great Dane in double figures. Freshman guard
Britney McGee finished with nine points ond the night while freshman
guard Charity Iromuanya added six points and five assists.
For the Bearcats, Kurpniece finished with a game- and season-high
22 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and 10-of-12 from
the line while Lindgren added 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting including
3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Sario rounded out the double-figure
scoring with 14 points, reaching double-digits for the 13th time
her her last 14 games.
With tonight's victory, the Bearcats achieve a split in the regular
season series with Albany and have now won in the Capitol City
three consecutive times.
Binghamton concludes its current three-game road trip when they
travel to Maine for a noon contest on February 10.
Game
Notes: Laine
Kurpniece was named Player of the Game for Binghamton while Amanda
Ward collected the honor for Albany. |
