ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany women's basketball team takes its two-game winning streak on the road with a trip to UMass Lowell this weekend.
 
Game Info
Saturday, January 30 at UMass Lowell (2:00 pm)
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Sunday, January 31 at UMass Lowell (1:00 pm)
Live Stats | ESPN+
 
Leading the Pack

• UAlbany has won back-to-back games
• UAlbany leads the America East in rebounding defense
• UAlbany ranks second in 3FG%, and third in 3FG per game and assists
• UMass Lowell leads in 3FG% defense
• Ellen Hahne ranks fourth in rebounding

 
Scouting UMass Lowell
UMass Lowell is 7-3 in the America East and 8-5 overall so far this season, securing the 13 games-played threshold to gain eligibility for postseason consideration.  Most recently, the River Hawks split their series against Binghamton, resulting in the end of their five-game winning streak. The River Hawks were picked to finish third in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll this year, one spot ahead of UAlbany, and landed junior guard Kharis Idom on the America East Preseason All-Conference Team.  The River Hawks lead the America East in 3FG% defense, and three players average double-figure scoring.  Lifetime, UAlbany is 14-10 against UMass Lowell.
 
Last Time vs. UMass Lowell
UAlbany hosted UMass Lowell for their senior day last season, with the River Hawks squeaking by the Great Danes 78-75.  Helene Haegerstrand scored a career-high 23 points, and senior and Lowell native Alexi Schecter scored 20, but UMass Lowell outscored UAlbany 37-24 in the second and third quarters.  The River Hawks led by double-digits for most of the fourth quarter but UAlbany surged back on a 12-0 run with four minutes remaining, but UMass Lowell shot 4-4 from the line to secure the win.
 
Last Time Out
The Great Danes earned their first America East sweep last weekend, knocking off visiting New Hampshire in back-to-back games at SEFCU Arena.  In Sunday's finale, UAlbany led by as many as 15 late in the first half only to see the Wildcats storm back to take the lead late in the second.  The Great Danes, however, closed the game on a 14-0 run to seal the victory.  Ellen Hahne scored 18 points to go with nine rebounds and six assists, while Grace Heeps had a breakout game, scoring 17 on 5-7 shooting from deep.  For the two games over the weekend, UAlbany recorded an assist on 33 of 43 made field goals and outrebounded the Wildcats 63-45.
 
Around the America East
The biggest news from the America East was the reworking of the remaining regular season schedule to a format that announces games in two-week intervals.  Maine has won seven games in a row and remains in first place at 9-1 in-conference.  Stony Brook is 6-2, followed by UMass Lowell at 7-3.  UAlbany has surged into fourth place at 3-3, technically behind Vermont's 4-2 but the Catamounts have opted out of the remainder of the season after not being able to play the last three weeks due to COVID-19 concerns.  Behind UAlbany, Binghamton, New Hampshire, and NJIT are 4-8, followed by UMBC at 2-4 and Hartford at 3-7.
 
Saturday's America East Games

• Stony Brook at Hartford, 1:00 pm
• UAlbany at UMass Lowell, 2:00 pm

 
Sunday's America East Games

• Stony Brook at Hartford, 1:00 pm
• UAlbany at UMass Lowell, 1:00 pm

 
Upcoming Milestones

• Kyara Frames: 829 points

 
Milestones Reached

• Kyara Frames: 100 appearances – vs. New Hampshire, January 23, 2021
• Kyara Frames: 250 assists – at UMBC, December 19, 2020

 
America East Reworks Schedule
Following a weekend in which five of the scheduled series were postponed due to COVID-19 concerns, in addition to the Vermont women's team electing to cancel the remainder of their season, the America East took the step to schedule the remainder of the 2020-21 regular season in two-week increments.  UAlbany's first series under the new format was unchanged, with the Great Danes still taking a trip to UMass Lowell January 30 and 31, but their open weekend on February 6 and 7, vacated after the shifting of their Maine series to January, will now see the women visit Stony Brook.  Games after February 6 and 7 have not been announced.
 
100
On January 23, 2021, senior guard Kyara Frames made her 100th career appearance at UAlbany.  Frames is one of two Great Danes on the roster with postseason tournament experience, appearing in the women's WNIT opening round game at the University of Pennsylvania in 2017.  At the time of her 100th appearance, Frames had started each of the previous 69 games in which she had appeared.
 
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 visits Stony Brook on February 6 and 7.