FINAL SCORE: Albany 72, Vermont 43
ALBANY, N.Y. – UVM women's basketball dropped its third conference matchup at the reigning conference champion Albany 72-43 on Saturday afternoon at SEFCU Arena. Vermont falls to a 5-11 (0-3) record and Albany improves to 11-3 (2-0).
 
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"Today's game ended a very tough stretch for us to open conference play," said head coach Lori Gear McBride. "Albany is another talented and experienced team and certainly showed that today. We have a week until our next game, which gives us an opportunity to regroup and work on some key areas that need improvement."
 
Andreana Thomas led the Catamounts in scoring as she recorded a team-best 10 points and grabbed three steals. Thomas has posted double-figure scoring in 11 games this season, including eight of Vermont's last nine matchups. Candice Wright matched a career-high five blocks.
 
Shareesha Richards recorded a double-double with a game-high 25 points and 15 rebounds for Albany. Zakiya Saunders chipped in 14 points and Imani Tate added 16 points and pulled down seven rebounds.
 
Vermont stayed within reach of the Great Danes (9-5) in the opening minutes of the game despite finding itself in early foul trouble. Hayley Robertson knocked down a long 3-pointer to cut into the Great Danes' lead and bring the score to 19-8 after the first quarter.
 
Thomas drew a foul and connected on from the line to create a big three-point play, cutting Albany's advantage to single digits (11-19) to open the second quarter. A key block by Candice Wright put the ball back into Kylie Atwood's hands, as she drew another foul and knocked down a pair from the line.
 
Saunders hit a layup in the final seconds of the quarter to give the Great Danes an 18-point cushion, 37-19, at the end of the half.
 
Another and-one play by Thomas with three minutes left in the third quarter was followed by a banked-in 3-pointer by Lauren Handy, but that was as close as the Catamounts would get.
 
UVM posted a solid performance from the charity stripe, shooting 88.2-percent after going 15-for-17. The Great Danes pushed ahead in the fourth quarter to easily close out the game for their second conference win.

Vermont returns home to Patrick Gym next Saturday (Jan. 16) to take on Hartford. Tip-off in Burlington is set for 2 p.m. Radio coverage begins 20 minutes prior to tip-off on WVMT 620-AM and SportsJuice.com. All conference games can also be viewed for free via AmericaEast.tv.