ALBANY, N.Y. – Women's basketball continues their road swing with a two-game series this weekend at Binghamton.
 
Game Info
Saturday, February 6 at Binghamton (2:00 pm)
Live Stats | ESPN3
 
Sunday, February 7 at Binghamton (1:00 pm)
Live Stats | ESPN3
 
Leading the Pack

• UAlbany ranks third in the America East in 3FG per game and rebounding margin
• Binghamton ranks third in blocked shots and 3FG% defense
• Ellen Hahne ranks fourth in rebounding and Lucia Decortes ranks fourth in blocked shots
• UAlbany is 4-0 this season when leading at the half
• Binghamton snapped UAlbany's 21-game series win streak last season
• Binghamton is UAlbany's most-played opponent in program history

 
Scouting Binghamton
The Bearcats are 4-10 overall this season, and 4-8 in the America East, with victories over UMBC, Hartford, New Hampshire, and UMass Lowell.  Binghamton was picked to finish fifth in this year's preseason coaches' poll, tied with UMBC, after a 22-9 2019-20 campaign that ended in the America East semifinal round to top seed Stony Brook.  The Bearcats had to replace guard Kai Moon, 2020 America East Player of the Year, to graduation, and Denai Bowman leads the team averaging 13.0 points per game, third in the conference.  UAlbany is 43-26 lifetime against Binghamton, and 21-1 in the last 22 games dating back to the 2012 season.
 
Last Time vs. Binghamton
For the first time since the 2012 season, a span of 22 games, the Bearcats defeated the Great Danes, ending a 21-game UAlbany win streak in the series by a final score of 58-42 in Vestal.  It was the Bearcats' first home victory in the series since January 20, 2011.  Despite Helene Haegerstrand recording a then-career high 16 points to go along with eight rebounds, Binghamton's Kai Moon scored 23 and the Bearcats scored 15 points off of 22 Great Danes' turnovers.  The Bearcats set the tone early, outscoring UAlbany 16-6 in the first quarter and never relinquishing the lead from there.
 
Last Time Out
The Great Danes scored a season-low 31 points in the series finale at UMass Lowell last weekend, splitting the series with the River Hawks.  The loss ended UAlbany's season-long three-game winning streak.  The Great Danes and River Hawks both struggled from the floor over the weekend, and UAlbany was shut out from deep on Sunday, shooting 0-16 from three.  Kayla Cooper matched her career-high 10 points in Sunday's effort, and was named Rookie of the Week for her performance during the series.
 
Around the America East
The America East's revamped basketball schedule, progressing in two-week intervals for the remainder of the season in an effort to ensure maximum flexibility to address COVID-19-related issues within programs as they arise, was immediately put to the test last weekend.  Only two series were able to proceed as scheduled, Stony Brook at Hartford and UAlbany at UMass Lowell.  Stony Brook swept Hartford, clinching their fourth- and fifth-straight victories, and now stand just one game behind first place, and idle, Maine in the conference standings.  UMass Lowell and UAlbany held steady in third and fourth, respectively.  UMBC joined Vermont in foregoing the remainder of their season, leaving just eight teams remaining.  Binghamton, New Hampshire, and NJIT are tied for fifth at 4-8 in-conference.
 
Saturday's America East Games

• UAlbany at Binghamton, 2:00 pm
• UMass Lowell at Maine, 4:00 pm

 
Sunday's America East Games

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

 
Upcoming Milestones

• Kyara Frames: 842 points

Milestones Reached

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

 
Rookie of the Week
Freshman guard Kayla Cooper won UAlbany's first America East weekly award this season, earning Rookie of the Week honors following the series at UMass Lowell.  Cooper averaged 6.0 points and 5.0 rebounds of 50.0% shooting in two games, including matching her career-high 10 points in the series finale on Sunday.  Cooper is the first UAlbany player to win a weekly award since Helene Haegerstrand was named Rookie of the Week in the penultimate week of the 2019-20 regular season.
 
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 hosts Hartford on February 13 and 14.