ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany women's basketball team will return to action this weekend for their first game since December 22, hosting Maine in their 2020-21 home opener. 
 
UAlbany was originally scheduled to play at America East newcomer NJIT, before COVID-19 concerns within the Vermont women's program prompted scheduling changes within the conference.  The series will be played as part of full double-header weekend with the men's team, who are hosting NJIT.
 
Game Info
Saturday, January 16 vs. Maine (12:00 pm)
Live Stats | ESPN+
 
Sunday, January 17 vs. Maine (12:00 pm)
Live Stats | ESPN+
 
Leading the Pack

• UAlbany ranks third in the America East in blocked shots
• Maine is the America East's top offensive team, leading the conference in scoring, FG%, and 3FG%
• Maine also leads the conference in assists, scoring margin, turnover margin and assist/turnover ratio, and ranks second in scoring defense
• Helene Haegerstrand and Kyara Frames rank first and second in FT%
• Haegerstrand ranks third in scoring
• Maine's Blanca Millan leads in scoring and steals, and ranks second in rebounding and FG%
• Maine's Dor Saar leads in assists and assist/turnover ratio

 
Scouting Maine
Maine arrives as the top team in the America East at 8-1 overall and 5-1 in-conference.  The Black Bears are defending America East regular-season runners-up, and were scheduled to face top seed Stony Brook in the 2020 conference finals before the game was cancelled due to COVID-19.  Maine was picked to win the conference in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll for the third-straight season, and garnered three Preseason All-Conference selections in Dor Saar, Blanca Millan, and Maeve Carroll.  The Black Bears are coming off a sweep of their series against UMass Lowell, and the lone blemish on their record this season was a surprise, one-point defeat at the hands of New Hampshire in Durham to start the new year.  Maine has won each of the last six games against UAlbany, by an average margin of 11.3 points.  The Black Bears lead the overall series 25-19.
 
Last Time vs. Maine
Maine notched their sixth-straight victory in the rivalry against UAlbany last season, closing out a regular-season sweep of the Great Danes at SEFCU Arena, 65-44.  Tied at 17 after the first quarter, Maine pulled away from UAlbany in the second to lead 34-25 at halftime.  A close third quarter led to another lopsided fourth, giving Maine the 21-point victory.  Amanda Kantzy led UAlbany with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Alexi Schecter scored 10 to go with four rebounds and three assists.  Helene Haegerstrand scored eight with eight rebounds.  UAlbany struggled from behind the arc, shooting just 1-11 for the game.  Four Black Bears scored in double-figures, led by Anne Simon's 17.
 
Last Time Out
The Great Danes finished out a six-game road swing to open their season at Fordham last week.  The game against the Rams came together quickly, filling in a spot that was originally scheduled to hold Siena before their program went on pause after a positive COVID-19 test within the Saints' Tier 1 personnel group.  Against Fordham, UAlbany held tough early but succumbed to the Rams pressure, falling behind by a final score of 71-42.
 
Around the America East
Maine leads the America East at 8-1 overall and 5-1 in-conference, having won three in a row.  UMass Lowell has surged to second place behind a four-game winning streak.  Stony Brook, idle with COVID-19 issues for the last two weeks, is third at 3-1 in-conference.  UAlbany has still played just two America East games, splitting their lone series with UMBC, and currently sit fifth behind Vermont.  Hartford, Binghamton, and New Hampshire are tied a 3-5 in-conference, leading UMBC and NJIT in ninth and 10th.
 
Saturday's America East Games

• Maine at UAlbany, 12:00 pm
• Binghamton at UMass Lowell, 1:00 pm
• Stony Brook at New Hampshire, 1:00 pm

 
Sunday's America East Games

• Maine at UAlbany, 12:00 pm
• Binghamton at UMass Lowell, 1:00 pm
• Stony Brook at New Hampshire, 1:00 pm
• Hartford at NJIT, 2:00 pm

 
Upcoming Milestones
Kyara Frames: 96 appearances, 787 points
 
Milestones Reached
Kyara Frames: 250 assists – at UMBC, December 19, 2020
 
250
On December 19, senior guard Kyara Frames recorded her 250th career assist.  With 9:25 remaining in the fourth quarter at UMBC, Frames found Haegerstrand for a layup to hit the personal milestone.  Frames is just the 15th woman in program history to reach 250 assists in her career, with Ebone Henry's 254 next on the all-time list.
 
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).
 
Layoff
On December 11, the UAlbany women's basketball team returned to the court for the first time since March 4, a layoff of 282 days.  They were the first UAlbany team to start back up again following the shutdown.  The last UAlbany team to take the field was women's lacrosse at Siena on March 11.
 
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 with her second year with the team and Hahne joined the team this year as a transfer from Wake Forest.  The duo were teammates on Sweden's U15, U16, and U20 teams, competing in the European Championships in 2014-15 and 2018-19.  They placed third together at European Championships as members of the U16 team in 2015.
 
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 hosts New Hampshire on January 23 and 24.