SCORE: UAlbany 88, Union 37
 
LOCATION: SEFCU Arena - Albany, N.Y.
 
RECORDS: UAlbany 7-4, 0-0 America East | Union 1-6, 1-2 Liberty League
 
SHORT STORY: The Great Danes surpassed adversity to come out as a team and defeat Union, 88-37, Tuesday night.
 
COACH COLLEEN MULLEN: "I am so proud of the way we played tonight and the balanced attack that we had. Union came in ready to compete, and I give them a lot of credit for the toughness they showed throughout the game. This was a valuable game to prepare for our America East play."
 
KEY STATS

• Sophomore Kayla Cooper led on both offense and defense, tallying team-highs of 25 points and 11 rebounds.
• Senior Lucia Decortes followed with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
• Freshman Abby Ray more than doubled her season-total minutes in one game, compiling 10 rebounds against the Dutchwomen.
• Five Great Danes earned double-digit points - Cooper, Decortes, redshirt-sophomore Morgan Haney, freshman Lilly Phillips, and freshman Freja Werth.
• Haney and Decortes led the team with three steals each. Phillips, Cooper, and senior Ellen Hahne added two each while Ray and Werth each made one steal.
• Decortes also led with two blocks and Haney led with five assists.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Ellen Hahne opened the game with the first basket after tallying a steal in the first minute.
• Union followed it up with a three-pointer to take their first and only lead of the first half, 3-2.
• Lucia Decortes began an 11-0 scoring run with the next possession as Lilly Phillips closed the run with a three-pointer in the ninth minute. 
• The Great Danes closed the first quarter with two three-pointers, from Helene Haegerstrand and Morgan Haney, for a 19-6 advantage.
• UAlbany held off the Dutchwomen for about four minutes to start the second quarter with another 11-0 scoring run.
• Union closed the gap with a couple of layups and free throws from 5:34 to 4:15 in the second.
• The close of the second quarter remained back-and-forth as the Great Danes gradually worked their way to a 48-19 lead at halftime.
• The Dutchwomen tallied the first basket of the second half with 8:33 on the third-quarter clock. This layup began a 10-3 scoring run for Union to close the point gap.
• UAlbany answered with a 17-2 run in the second half of the third.
• Kayla Cooper started out the final quarter drawing a foul and tallying two successful free throws.
• Cooper led the team in the final quarter, scoring nine of their 20 points. 
• Haegerstrand closed the contest taking two free throws with 40 seconds on the clock to make it an 88-37 victory.

 
NEXT: The Great Danes will open America East play on the road, at Hartford, on December 30.

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