Virgin Islander Tammy Phillip (right) earned a career-high 17 points and six steals, adding nine boards as UAlbany earned a 65-39 win over UMBC. Photo: supplied

Head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson said Phillip had one of her best games. Photo: supplied

“This was one of Tammy’s [Phillip] best games,” added UAlbany head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson. “She is so long and athletic, and I hope she can sustain this."

UAlbany (17-3, 7-0 AE), which earned its 30th-straight conference victory, had 16 steals as a team, including four from Shereesha Richards. Richards added four field goals to set a new UAlbany single season record with 180, finishing with 12 points, six rebounds and four assists.

“It feels good to know that I got the record,” said Richards. “Tammy [Phillip] and Megan [Craig] hit their shots, which helped since [UMBC] had a lot double teams.”

“She is fierce and about impossible to guard,” added Abrahamson-Henderson. “She is so easy to coach because she plays so hard.”

The victory for UAlbany sets up a first-versus-second showdown on Thursday at 7 p.m. against Stony Brook in Long Island. Stony Brook is 6-1 in-conference and 15-5 overall.

Sarah Royals added 11 points and four assists, while Margarita Rosario had seven points, four steals and four assists.
For UMBC (2-18, 1-7 AE), Sara Tarbert led the team with 12 points and five rebounds.

The Great Danes held UMBC without a field goal in the opening seven minutes. Phillip led the way with seven points in the team’s opening 11-0 run. She added another basket and a steal, finding a running Royals on a fast break, to send UAlbany up 15-3 with just over 11 minutes left.

After a UMBC free throw, UAlbany powered its way through a 12-0 run, including two Royals baskets and six points from Richards, pushing the home team up 27-4, capped by a fast break layup by Keyontae Williams.

UMBC broke its field drought as each side exchanged points down the stretch, with UAlbany leading 34-15 at the break.
Out of halftime, Richards hit a pair of layups in succession, matching the UAlbany single season field goals record. Megan Craig added a layup to Richards’s second score, followed by a Rosario three for seven points in a row to make it 43-17 with 16:24 left. Erin Coughlin added a pair of corner threes as UAlbany led 51-22.

Amanda Hagaman tried to get UMBC back in the game, attacking the paint and hitting layups, with Tarbert adding another to pull the Retrievers closer 51-28 with 9:28 left.

At 53-31, a Coughlin three sparked a 9-0 UAlbany run to effectively seal the game. The Great Danes took the win 65-39.