UAlbany upsets Florida in NCAA tournament

ualbany women celebrating upset over florida

The #12 seed UAlbany women's basketball team upset #5 seed Florida 61-59 Friday afternoon in the NCAA tournament in Syracuse. It's the first NCAA tournament win in the program's history.

The win was even more amazing for the Great Danes considering their superstar senior Shereesha Richards fouled out of the game with more than 6 minutes to go (on a not-great call by the ref). Junior guard Imani Tate was tremendous for UAlbany with 28 points, pulling the team to victory down the stretch.

UAlbany started off the game strong and led 14-12 at the end of the first quarter. But Florida surged in the second quarter to lead 36-22 at the half. The Great Danes steadily chipped away at the margin in the second half, and the Gators fell into a long scoring drought. UAlbany finally took the lead with 1:47 to go on a Heather Forster layup. A putback by Tiana-Jo Carter off a daring drive by Zakiya Saunders with 8 seconds go staked UAlbany to a four-point lead and sealed the game.

Imani Tate's line for game: 28 points on 9-20 shooting (10-14 from the line), 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 5 steals. Shereesha Richards had 14 points in 22 minutes before fouling out.

UAlbany next faces the winner of #4 seed Syracuse and #13 seed Army on Sunday at the Carrier Dome.

Syracuse: The #10 seed Syracuse men's basketball team beat #7 seed Dayton 70-51 Friday afternoon. The Orange play the winner of Michigan State/Middle Tennessee State on Sunday.

screengrab: ESPN2

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