ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany women's basketball program concludes a three-games-in-five-days stretch at Marist on Tuesday ahead of the conference opener at UMBC starting on Saturday.
 
Game Info
Tuesday, December 15 at Marist (2:00 p.m.)
Live Stats | ESPN3
 
Leading the Pack

• UAlbany is seeking its first back-to-back victories since defeating Hartford and UMBC on January 25 and January 29, 2020
• Helene Haegerstrand is coming off her career-best game, scoring 26 points to lead all players at Seton Hall
• Ellen Hahne has notched two-straight double-doubles, and is averaging 16.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game
• Marist leads the all-time series 5-1
• Marist freshman Caitlin Weimar has won back-to-back MAAC Rookie of the Week awards

 
Scouting Marist
Marist is the second-straight undefeated team UAlbany will play, having knocked off 2-0 Seton Hall over the weekend.  Marist defeated Army West Point in their season opener, and swept its two-game MAAC series against Canisius last weekend.  Before the cancellation of the season last year, Marist was slated to appear in the MAAC semifinals.  The Red Foxes shared the MAAC regular-season title and were the two-seed in the conference tournament following an 18-2 MAAC campaign last year.  Marist returns two starters from last year's record-setting roster in senior forward Willow Duffel, who led the MAAC in field goal percentage a season ago, and junior guard Sarah Barcello.  This will be the third-straight season the Great Danes have played the Red Foxes, following a four-year break between matchups in 2014 and 2018.  Marist has won each of the last three meetings, including the last two by an average of 22 points. 
 
Last Time vs. Marist
UAlbany visited Marist for its road opener in 2019-20, falling to the Red Foxes 76-52.  After trading baskets through the early part of the game, Marist pulled away from UAlbany using a 13-3 run to end the first quarter, and led by as many as 21 in the second quarter.  Marist shot 62.1% from the floor during the first half.  UAlbany cut the lead narrowly in the third quarter before Marist pulled away once again in the fourth to claim victory.
 
Last Time Out
The Great Danes scrambled to get Seton Hall on the schedule on Sunday, after their original opponent, Saint Peter's, who was also scheduled on short notice, pulled out in favor of a conference matchup.  Seton Hall was undefeated, was averaging over 100 points per game, and had won each of its first two games by an average of 45 points.  UAlbany came in, and anchored by stellar performance from Ellen Hahne, who recorded her second-straight double-double, Helene Haegerstrand, who led all scorers with a career-high 26 points, and Kyara Frames, who scored nine of UAlbany's final 11 points, including seven-straight while shooting 6-6 from the line, knocked off the Pirates by a final score of 71-66.  UAlbany was a perfect 10-10 from the free-throw line against Seton Hall and, as a team, recorded 19 assists.
 
Around the America East
Only three America East games were played over the weekend, after Binghamton had to cancel their game at #20 Syracuse due to COVID-19 concerns.  With their victory over Seton Hall, UAlbany has moved into fourth place in the conference standings.  New Hampshire and newcomer NJIT are tied for first as the only two teams to begin their conference schedule, splitting their two games.  Maine is the only undefeated team in the conference, winning each of its first two games.  Defending regular-season champion Stony Brook is 1-2, and three teams, Binghamton, UMass Lowell, and UMBC, remain winless.  Two teams, Hartford and Vermont, have yet to take the court.
 
Tuesday's America East Games
UAlbany at Marist, 2:00 pm
 
Upcoming Milestones
Kyara Frames: 93 appearances, 761 points, 246 assists
 
Down the Stretch
Against Seton Hall, Kyara Frames scored nine of UAlbany's final 11 points, including seven-straight, and shot a perfect 6-6 from the line to clinch a five-point victory against the Pirates.  UAlbany went 10-10 from the line as a team, and ultimately held Seton Hall to 35 points under their season average to date.  Helene Haegerstrand scored 26 points, a career high, on 9-11 shooting.
 
Double-Double II
Ellen Hahne once again recorded a double-double, her second in her first two games at UAlbany, at Seton Hall, scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.  Hahne also added five assists on the day, as part of a 19-assist team effort against the Pirates.
 
Late Addition
A disruption in Saint Peter's MAAC schedule had forced the Peacocks to postpone their road series at Niagara, opening up an opportunity for the Great Danes to secure another game at home.  Coming together in less than 24 hours, UAlbany added Saint Peter's to its schedule, moving the home opener up three days to December 13.  Originally, the Great Danes were schedule to open at home against Marist on December 16, a game that was cancelled just before news of Saint Peter's availability broke.  A day later, Saint Peter's pulled out in favor of starting their conference schedule at Iona, leaving UAlbany without an opponent for Sunday.  The Great Danes, Friday evening, secured a road matchup with Seton Hall instead.
 
Double-Double
In her debut as a Great Dane, junior guard Ellen Hahne scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for a double-double to lead UAlbany in both categories in their season opener at Hofstra.  It mirrored the season opening double-doubles last season against Columbia, from Alexi Schecter (31 points, 11 rebounds), and fellow Swedish national Amanda Kantzy (10 points, 10 rebounds).
 
Late Start
December 11 is the latest date on record that the UAlbany women's basketball team has played its first game.  In prior years, the Great Danes have started as late as November 25, most recently in 1986.
 
Preseason Disruptions
Since returning to campus, the Great Danes have seen their team activities interrupted multiple times due to COVID-19 protocols.  On September 11, a cluster of presumptive positive cases within the UAlbany athletics community paused all athletic-related activities for a total of 24 days, with full activities not resuming for another seven when the pause was finally lifted.  On November 10, an increase in cases within the campus community triggered SUNY's remote learning protocols, including pausing athletics activities.  The women returned to practice on November 25.  Less than a week later, the women had to pause again after presumptive positive tests within the team's Tier 1 personnel, before returning to practice on December 4.
 
Captains
This year, the team has selected three captains to lead the program through the unprecedented 2020-21 season.  Redshirt-senior guard Khepera Stokes, senior guard Kyara Frames, and sophomore forward Helene Haegerstrand will take up leadership roles for the Great Danes this year.  Stokes and Frames are the longest-tenured Great Danes in the program, and the only two on the roster with postseason experience in the NCAA Tournament or the WNIT.
 
Reunited
Swedish nationals Helene Haegerstrand and Ellen Hahne have reunited as teammates at UAlbany after playing together previously on Sweden's national team.  Haegerstrand is a sophomore this season and in her second year with the team and Hahne joined the team this year as a transfer from Wake Forest.
 
Last Holdout
Redshirt-senior Khepera Stokes is the only player on the roster who was a member of the Great Danes' last America East title and NCAA appearance.  Stokes was a freshman when UAlbany defeated Maine 66-50 in the 2016-17 America East finals to win the program's sixth-straight conference championship.  Stokes appeared in all 33 games for UAlbany that season, starting 19 after moving into the starting lineup halfway through the season.  She finished the year with 95 assists, second in program history for a freshman, behind only then-teammate Mackenzie Trpcic, who finished the year with 103.
 
First Years
Including this year's seven new recruits, 13 of 16 players on the roster have just one year or fewer in the program.  Only Khepera Stokes, Kyara Frames, and Lucia Decortes have two or more seasons under their belts.  Only Stokes and Frames have made postseason appearances in the NCAA Tournament or the WNIT.
 
Transfers
In addition to a freshman class of four, UAlbany welcomes three transfer players in guards Ellen Hahne (Wake Forest), Grace Heeps (UMass), and Fatima Lee (Providence).  Heeps hails locally from East Greenbush, N.Y., and played high school at Northfield Mount Herman.
 
Roster Changes
The Great Danes return three starters from last season, but will have to replace top scorer Alexi Schecter and top rebounder Amanda Kantzy, who combined accounted for 38% of UAlbany's total scoring.  Returning this year are second and third leading scorers Helene Haegerstrand and Kyara Frames, as well as fifth-year senior guard Khepera Stokes.  Stokes is the only player on the team this season who appeared and started in all 30 games for UAlbany last season.
 
Picked Fourth
The Great Danes were selected to finish fourth in this year's America East Preseason Coaches' Poll.  UAlbany drew 54 points overall, clear of Binghamton and UMBC's 53, tying for fifth.  Ahead of UAlbany was Maine (78 points and six first-place votes), Stony Brook (76 points and four first-place votes) and UMass Lowell.
 
America East Announces Basketball Schedule Format
On October 19, 2020, the America East debuted its revised schedule format for the 2020-21 season.  The conference season will begin on December 19-20, with teams playing back-to-back games at the same site against the same opponent on Saturdays and Sundays.  There are built-in off weekends to accommodate potential postponements throughout the season.  It will also be the first year that the conference schedule expands to 18 games to account for NJIT joining the conference.
 
Next: UAlbany opens America East play with back-to-back games at UMBC December 19 and 20.