WEST HARTFORD, Conn.—The sixth-seeded UMBC women's basketball team (13-17, 7-9 AE) saw its season come to an end Friday afternoon with a 60-49 loss to No. 3 Boston University (16-13, 11-5 AE) in the quarterfinals of the America East Championship at Hartford's Chase Arena.
Senior guard Carlee Cassidy (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) posted team highs of 18 points, eight rebounds and three steals in her final game for the Retrievers. She finished her career with 1,627 career points, second all-time at UMBC, and a school-record 248 three-pointers.
The Terriers led from the start, but the Retrievers kept it close for most of the first half, never trailing by more than five for the first 18 minutes of play. Boston U. led by just two points, 20-18, with 4:19 remaining in the period but finished the half with an 8-0 run to take a 10-point lead, 28-18 into halftime.
After the Terriers extended their lead to a game-high 15 points, 45-30, with 10:15 to go, UMBC junior forward Meghan Colabella (Upper Montclair, N.J./Montclair) scored seven straight points to pull the Retrievers back to within nine, 46-37, with 6:53 left, but a 3-pointer by BU guard Caitlynn Moran curbed UMBC's rally.
Twice more the Retrievers pulled to within single digits over the next three minutes, but both times Terrier guard Alex Young buried a triple, and UMBC could not regain the momentum.
Sophomore guard Michelle Kurowski (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville) was the only other Retriever in double figures with 13 points, and she grabbed eight rebounds, as well, while Colabella added nine points and eight boards.
Young led the Terriers with a game-high 23 points, while guard Chantell Alford, who was named the America East Rookie of the Year on Thursday, posted a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds to go along with five assists and four steals.
