Lady Danes lose to Pepperdine

[Dane Pound]

Lady Danes collapsed in the second half after having a 6 point half-time lead. Hutch made all-tourney team.

 

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL FALLS TO PEPPERDINE, 70-49, IN SUN AND FUN CLASSIC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

 

Miami, Fla. -- Tournament MVP Shandrika Lee scored a season-high 28 points on 11-of-23 shooting from the floor and knocked down five 3-pointers to lead Pepperdine to a 70-49 victory over Albany in the Sun and Fun/Herald Classic championship game on Monday, December 29 at the Golden Panther Arena.

 

Pepperdine (5-6), who was an NCAA Tournament participant last season, trailed 28-22 at halftime but opened the second half with a 6-0 run to pull within, 30-28, on Lee’s conventional three-point play. The Waves took their first lead of the contest on Lee’s 3-pointer at the top of the key to make it 35-34 with 14:03 left in the second period.

 

Pepperdine, who shot 52.6% in the second half, took control of the contest and never looked back as they built on their lead as they scored 15 unanswered points with four minutes remaining. Junior Shannon Mayberry, who scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half, tallied four points in that span, while Lee added eight with six points coming from long range.

 

Albany (3-6), who held a 43-41 rebounding advantage, closed out the first half on a 5-0 spurt on junior Maree Jones’ layup with 40 seconds left to carry the lead into halftime.

 

The Great Danes held their largest lead of eight with 11:07 remaining in the first period as Jones, who tallied nine points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, knocked down a 3-pointer at the top of the key to make it 19-11.

 

"We played well for 30 minutes," said Albany head coach Trina Patterson, "the last ten minutes of the game destroyed us. We have to get better at handling full-court presses."

 

"We’re happy to be the runner-up and Dani being named all-tournament," stated coach Patterson.

 

Sophomore Becky Ayres led Albany in scoring with a career-high 24 points as she was perfect from the charity stripe knocking down all ten attempts. Junior Danielle Hutcheson, who was named to the all-tournament team, added six points with nine rebounds.

[statefan]

Interesting stat. Last nite Hutch took 13 shots and scored 6 points. Becky Ayers took 14 shots and scored 24 points. I guess Hutch was rewarded by the home town sportswriters for her effort against the hometown team, but generally all tournament honors go to those who play good in the championship game.

[UAalum72]

A stat not in the paper's box score is that PU had only nine turnovers to Albany's 27. The only reason UA led at the half is the Waves shooting 20% in the first. They went to a press in the second to turn the game around.