Release courtesy Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Athletic Communications

Senior guard Emma Webster hit 13 three-pointers on her way to a career-high 41 points in a 74-48 victory over the Five Town's College Sound on Sunday, November 10th. The win improved Albany's overall record to 2-2. Despite the two teams both being in the HVIAC, this matchup was not considered a conference game as Five Towns and ACPHS will face-off again later in the year.

The first quarter was a tricky one for Albany, as they did fall behind early thanks to some hot-shooting from the Sound. The Panthers did eventually grab a 16-13 lead following a three-pointer from Webster with 21 seconds left. In the second, Five Towns, who only dressed five players for the game, suffered an unfortunate injury. Rasauna Melendez came down hard after trying to take a charge from ACPHS sophomore guard Clare Snell. She was unable to continue, forcing Five Towns to play with just four players for the remainder of the game.

Albany raced out to an eight-point lead by halftime following the injury to Melendez, working the ball around and always finding the open player. Snell filled up the stat sheet as she so often does in the opening twenty minutes, recording eight points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists.

Five Towns did show some heart in the second half, scoring the opening eight points to knot the game at 31 at the 8:21 mark. Unfortunately, they got into foul trouble just three minutes later and lost another player, this time Jada Roberts Duncan. The guard picked up her fourth and fifth foul in quick succession, leaving the Sound with just three eligible players. With so much space on the court, Webster took over. She drained five of her 13 threes in the third quarter, leading the Panthers to a 50-39 lead going into the fourth.

Webster stayed hot in the final ten minutes, ensuring there would be no miracle comeback. She shot 13-24 from the field with every made basket coming beyond the three-point arc. The senior is now closing in on 1,000 points for her career. Snell came just two assists short of a triple-double, finishing with 10 points, 12 boards, and eight assists. Ariana Jones led the way for the Sound, scoring 29 points in 40 minutes of action.

Release courtesy Five Towns College Athletic Communications

Albany, NY - Women's basketball moves to 1-1 on the season after a 74-48 loss on the road to Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

After the best shooting percentage in three years of women's basketball yesterday against Word of Life (57.8%, 26-45 FGA), the Sound shot only 31.4% in today's game. The team went 16-51 from the field, including 1-10 from three-point range. The Panthers had a slightly better percentage at 32.9%, but shot an impressive 13-26 from behind the arc.

Albany's Emma Webster was the game's high scorer with 41 points. She scored all 13 of the Panthers three-point field goals and shot 62% from deep. Albany held the advantage in the paint, outrebounding Five Towns 51-42. Albany's defense caused 26 Five Towns turnovers, which the team converted into 25 points.

Five Towns newcomer Ariana Jones continues to make an impressive mark with the Sound. After scoring 31 points in yesterday's contest, she narrowly missed a double-double today with 29 points and nine rebounds. She also had two assists, one steal, and one block. Jones scored 13 of her points from the charity stripe (13-28).

Destiny Martinez also scored double digits with 10 points, to go along with eight rebounds and four steals.

Five Towns opened up the game with a 5-0 run and held the lead for the majority of the 1st quarter until Albany tied the score at 13-13 with less than a minute remaining. Albany held the lead through the 2nd quarter and led by eight points at the half. Five Towns came out after halftime to go on a 12-3 scoring run to regain the lead at 35-34 after Jones sank two free-throws with 6:46 remaining in the third.

This would be the last time Five Towns held the lead, as a 16-4 Albany run to close out the third quarter gave the Panthers the lead for good. The Panthers' momentum carried into the fourth quarter and started the quarter with a 9-0 run. Albany would score 24 points in the fourth quarter, and held Five Towns to nine points.