ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany women's basketball team returns home to face Siena for the Albany Cup. 
 
Masks will be required inside all buildings on campus.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
Siena at UAlbany
DATE: Sunday, December 12
TIME: 2:00 PM
SITE: SEFCU Arena - Albany, NY
RECORDS: UAlbany 3-4, 0-0 America East | Siena 0-7 0-0 MAAC
SERIES RECORD: Series tied, 11-11
STATS: UAlbanySports.com
TICKETS: UAlbanySports.com
STREAM: ESPN+
 
UAlbany game notes | Siena game notes

*records as of 12/9
 
HEAD COACH COLLEEN MULLEN
"We are excited to be back at SEFCU on Sunday to face cross-city rival Siena. I know our fans, along with the game atmosphere, will energize our players as we take on a very athletic and talented Siena team. With the Big Purple Growl on Saturday and the Albany Cup on Sunday, this is an exciting weekend for the community and for UAlbany basketball."
 
GREAT DANE REWIND

• UAlbany opened the season with a 29-point victory over Hofstra (11/10), beating the Pride for the first time in program history.
• The Great Danes collected a win against Colgate (12/5) on the road after defeating Bryant at home (12/1).
• UAlbany has four losses on the road - Boston College (11/28), Cornell (11/24), Merrimack (11/16), and Vanderbilt (12/8).
• Junior Helene Haegerstrand leads the team with 77 points (11.0 per game), shooting a team-high 50.0% (15-30) from outside the arc.
• Senior Lucia Decortes leads the team with a 57.1 field goal percentage (16-28).
• On the rebound, sophomore Kayla Cooper leads the team with 44 (6.3 per game). Cooper also leads with 29 defensive rebounds, while Decortes holds a team-high 16 offensive rebounds.
• Freshman Lilly Phillips (20 assists) and senior Ellen Hahne (12 steals) lead the team with their respective stats.
• Decortes owns a team-high six blocks while Cooper (4), Haegerstrand (3), Hahne (3) have tallied multiple blocks.
• Every single player from the 13-person roster saw action and contributed with a point or an assist in the season-opening game. 
• Of the 394 points scored in five games, the bench has tallied 152 points. This includes half (26) of the 52 points scored at Merrimack and almost half (29) of the 60 points scored against Bryant.
• As a team, UAlbany is hitting 40.4% from the field, 35.3% outside the arc, and 61.6% from the free-throw line. 
• The Great Danes are averaging 56.3 points per game, 36.1 rebounds per game, and 13.1 assists per game.

 
ABOUT SIENA

• The Saints are looking for their first win of the season with seven losses.
• Siena opened their season on the road against Binghamton (11/9), but a third-quarter boost was not enough for the Saints who eventually fell 59-54.  
• The Saints continued their season on the road collecting three losses - St. Bonaventure (11/11), Lafayette (11/20), and New Hampshire (11/23). 
• Siena returned home for their next three games - Duquesne (11/27), North Dakota (11/30), and Colgate (12/2).
• Rayshel Brown leads the Saints offense with 96 points (13.7 per game), while Anajah Brown leads shooting 75.0% from the field. 
• R. Brown also leads the team with a .364 three-point percentage. 
• Amari Anthony and R. Brown has each tallied 37 rebounds for a team-high. Anthony leads defensive rebounds with 22, while R. Brown leads offensive rebounds with 18. 
• Imani Harris (11 assists) and Tobulayefa Watts (6 blocks) lead the team with their respective stats.
• As a team, Siena is hitting 31.9% from the field, 19.7% outside the arc, and 60.7% from the free-throw line. 
• The Saints are averaging 50.3 points per game, 37.3 rebounds per game, and 7.0 assists per game.

 
PAST CONNECTIONS

• Executive Coach for Program Development and Player Relations Gina Castelli spent 13 years at Siena, including 12 as head coach. 
• Current UAlbany broadcaster, Ali Jaques, was the head coach for the Saints from 2012 to 2021 for a total of nine seasons. 

 
SERIES AGAINST THE SAINTS

• The series is tied, 11-11. 
• The teams' last meeting was in 2019, resulting in a loss for UAlbany (52-46).
• The Great Danes beat the Saints in 2017, 78-63. 

 
AROUND THE AMERICA EAST

• Stony Brook leads the conference with seven wins and one loss.
• Vermont sits in second with a 5-4 record.
• Binghamton is 4-4, just edging UAlbany, 3-4, for the third spot.
• NJIT sits in fifth with a 4-6 record.
• Both New Hampshire and UMass Lowell hold a 3-5 record, earning them a tie for sixth.
• Maine follows with a 2-6 record.
• UMBC has one win on the season (1-6) while Hartford is still looking for their first win after eight losses.

 
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEK

• Friday
  • Binghamton at Eastern Michigan University, 4 pm
  • Penn at Stony Brook, 7 pm
• Saturday
  • New Hampshire at Boston College, 4 pm
  • NJIT at St. Francis Brooklyn, 2 pm
  • UMass Lowell at Yale, 2 pm 
• Sunday
  • University of Rhode Island at Maine, 1 pm
  • Siena at UAlbany, 2 pm
• Monday
  • New Hampshire at Boston U., 6 pm

 
WHAT'S UP, PRESEASON

• The Great Dane women's basketball team was picked to finish fifth in the conference in the preseason coaches' poll. With six first-place votes and 78 total points, Stony Brook was voted to finish first with Maine just behind (74 points, three first-place votes). 
• UAlbany added four new players to the roster for the 2021-22 season - Koi Sims, Lilly Phillips, Abby Ray, and Freja Werth

 
DRIVE THE LANE WITH UALBANY HOOPS

• UAlbany has expanded its partnership with ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team and City Line Bar & Grill.
• Coaches Colleen Mullen and Dwayne Killings, along with select student-athletes, will join ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team's Charlie Voelker and Dan Bahl every Monday from 6-7 pm live from City Line Bar & Grill for a weekly segment entitled 'Drive the Lane with UAlbany Hoops'.
• Fans are invited to come out to City Line Bar & Grill to join Coach Mullen, Coach Kills, the student-athletes, and the ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team crew. 
• Food and drink specials will be available on a weekly basis as the teams embark on their new seasons and talk hoops every Monday.

 
UP NEXT

• The Great Danes will face Canisius at home on December 15.

For more information on the University at Albany women's basketball team, follow the squad's official social media accounts shown below.
Twitter - @ualbanywbb
Instagram - @ualbanywbb
Facebook – facebook.com/UAlbanyWBB