ALBANY, N.Y. - It was a close game from start to finish, but the UMBC women's basketball team fell to the UAlbany Great Danes, 56-51, on Wednesday afternoon. The Retrievers never let the Great Danes lead by more than 7 and there were 10 lead changes and six ties during the course of the game.

The Great Danes move to 8-13 overall on the year and 4-4 in conference play. The Retrievers fall to 6-13 on the season and 2-6 in America East play.

Sophomore Paula Rubio (Madrid, Spain) led all scorers with a career-high 17 points (6-8 FG, 4-4 FT), while senior Lucrezia Costa (Rome, Italy) chipped in a season-high 10 points (4-8 FG, 2-3 FT). Redshirt-sophomore O'lesheya Braxton (Paterson, N.J.) grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, a new season-high.

With a 40-35 lead heading into the fourth quarter, UAlbany was able to extend their lead in the fourth quarter to only seven as UMBC kept fighting back. With the Great Danes leading, 46-39, at the 7:01 point, the Retrievers used a five-point spurt to help cut back into the lead, 46-44. Te'yJah Oliver (Clinton, Md./Riverdale Baptist) converted a three-point play to trim the deficit down to one, 48-47, with 2:37 to go in the quarter. After UAlbany hit a pair of free throws, Costa made a basket and kept the score at one, 50-49. Down the stretch, however, the Great Danes were able to it their free throws for the 56-51 victory. 

The first quarter started close, with Rubio sinking a pair of free throws and Costa converting a three-point play to tie the game at 5-5 with 6:38 to play. The Retrievers took an 11-7 lead at the 2:06 mark after Rubio and Lyric Swann (Elkridge, Md./Long Reach) each making a layup. The Great Danes scored the last five points of the quarter to take a 12-11 lead after the first 10 minutes.

Rubio started the second quarter with a three-point shot to give UMBC a 14-12 lead just 15 seconds into the period. UAlbany scored five points to take a 17-14 at the 6:46 mark. Braxton and Rubio gave UMBC the lead back, 18-17, but UAlbany scored 20 seconds later. The Retrievers took a one-point lead, 21-20, with 2:02 on the clock but the Great Danes were able to take a 23-21 lead into the half.

Rubio led all scorers with 11 points at the end of the first half (4-5 FG, 1-1 3FG). The team shot 34.8 percent (8-23) from the floor, going 4-10 in the first quarter. 

The trend of exchanging buckets continued into the third quarter as the Retrievers cut the Great Danes' lead to 2, until Costa tied the game up at 29-29 at the 5:22 mark. Eryn Fisher (Perth, Australia) gave UMBC a 31-29 lead, but UAlbany used a 6-0 spurt to take a 35-31 lead with 2:58 left to play. The Retrievers scored four straight points to even the game out but the Great Danes took a 37-35 lead on their next possession and never gave up the advantage, heading into the final quarter with a 40-35 lead.

In addition to her 17 points, Rubio also had five rebounds and two assists; Costa also pulled down five rebounds. Braxton added five points to her day to go along with two assists.

Kyara Frames led the Great Danes, going 4-10 from the three-point arc and 4-6 from the free throw line. 

The Retriever return home to start the second part of conference play on Saturday, February 1 when they host the Stony Brook Seawolves at 1 p.m.