Conference Wrap: 2/28/13

Megan Craig and Albany clinched the No. 1 seed.

The playoff picture is beginning to come together in the final week of the season, particularly on the women's side. Last night Albany clinched its first-ever outright regular-season title and is gearing up for its title defense next week. Hartford also locked up the No. 2 seed and another huge game went down in Burlington last night. In other news, the Maine versus Boston U. game was officially cancelled and will not be made up this season. Our thoughts continue to be with the team and the school after the accident. Let's go inside the action last night as we look forward to four men's game tonight.

Women's Basketball

Albany 55, at New Hampshire 46: Box/Recap

• Top Performer
• Megan Craig (Alb): 20 points (9-14 FG; 2-4 FT), 5 rebounds, 1 block, 1 assist, 1 steal
• Big Stat
• While the Great Danes may have come out of the gates a bit slowly, they certainly turned it on in the final 20 minutes. After shooting just seven of 24 from the field in the first half, Albany shot over 50 percent the rest of the way. It also got more aggressive and that led to more free throw attempts.
• Supporting Cast
• Sheeresha Richards helped pace Albany with a near double-double of 10 points and nine boards. For New Hampshire, Morgan Frame led the way with 16 points and 8 rebounds, while Cari Reed netted 11.
• Local Media
• Albany Times Union

Hartford 69, at UMBC 62: Box/Recap

• Top Performer
• Nikkia Smith (Hart): 12 points (5-9 FG; 2-2 FT), 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 steal
• Big Stat
• The Hawks depth helped win this game, as the trio of Daphne Elliot, Shanise Bultron and Ruthanne Doherty combined for 30 points off the bench. While UMBC put up a great fight, it wasn't able to get any scoring from outside of its starting five.
• Supporting Cast
• The Hartford trio we just talked about was led by Bultron's 12 points. UMBC put four of its five starters in double figures, led by 17 from Brittany Crowell and 16 from Raven Harris.

at Vermont 61, Binghamton 43: Box/Recap/Highlights

• Top Performer
• Lauren Buschmann (UVM): 19 points (7-10 FG; 5-8 FT), 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals
• Big Stat
• Vermont's defense stymied the Bearcats in the first half, holding them to just 15 points on four of 21 shooting from the field. The Catamounts paired that with a hot start, shooting nearly 50 percent and scoring 36 points. Don't count out the extra motivation that Buschmann had on senior night playing in front of her home fans.
• Supporting Cast
• Lauren Wheeler and Niki Taylor also had big games for the Cats, racking up 15 and 12 points, respectively. To lead Binghamton, Jasbriell Swain had 13 points and missed a double-double by just one rebound.
• Local Media
• Burlington Free Press
• Press and Sun

Linked Up

Stony Brook made an appearance in the ESPN men's basketball mid-major poll for the first time this season.

Coach Jen Rizzotti talks about Hartford's 2013 senior class.

More from Hartford, men's coach John Gallagher talks about his team's "Texas Connection".

A few Stony Brook alums made some noise on the diamond yesterday, as Travis Jankowski was 1 for 2 against the Rockies and Tom Koehler threw two scoreless innings against the Nationals.

WBNG News sat down with Binghamton men's coach Tommy Dempsey for a one-on-one chat.