ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany women's basketball team heads on the road to continue America East play at UMass Lowell.
 
Masks are required inside all buildings on campus.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
UAlbany at UMass Lowell
DATE: Wednesday, January 12
TIME: 7:00 PM
SITE: Costello Athletic Center - Lowell, Mass.
RECORDS: UAlbany 8-4, 0-0 America East | UMass Lowell 3-6, 0-0 America East
SERIES RECORD: 15-11, UAlbany leads
STATS: GoRiverHawks.com
TICKETS: GoRiverHawks.com
STREAM: ESPN+
 
*records as of 1/10
 
HEAD COACH COLLEEN MULLEN
"Lowell is a dangerous team with a strong inside-out presence. They have quick, athletic guards and a talented front line. We need to have great team defense, rebound well, and limit our turnovers."
 
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).
• Before taking a holiday break, the Great Danes defeated Siena for the Albany Cup on December 12, Canisius on December 15, and Central Connecticut State on December 21.
• UAlbany closed its non-conference slate with a 41-point victory over Union (12/28).
• The Great Danes recently opened America East play with a win over New Hampshire on January 8.
• Junior Helene Haegerstrand leads the team with 141 points (11.8 per game), shooting a team-high 45.1% (23-51) from outside the arc.
• Redshirt-sophomore Abby Robinson leads the team, shooting 83.3% (5-6) from 20 minutes of play in seven games. Senior Lucia Decortes holds a 60.4% (29-48) from the field, leading all players who have seen the court for more than 40 minutes this season.
• On the rebound, sophomore Kayla Cooper leads the team with 78 (6.5 per game). Cooper also leads with 50 defensive rebounds while Decortes leads with 30 offensive rebounds.
• Freshman Lilly Phillips owns a team-high 31 assists.
• After totaling seven steals against New Hampshire, Decortes leads the team with 17 steals. 
• Decortes owns a team-high 19 blocks while Haegerstrand (7), Cooper (5), Hahne (3), Werth (3), Heeps (2), and Robinson (2) 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 726 points scored in 12 games, the bench has tallied 174 points. This includes half (26) of the 52 points scored at Merrimack, almost half (29) of the 60 points scored against Bryant, and almost half (32) of the 65 points scored against Canisius.
• As a team, UAlbany is hitting 40.8% from the field, 35.1% outside the arc, and 68.4% from the free-throw line. 
• The Great Danes are averaging 60.5 points per game, 37.8 rebounds per game, and 13.9 assists per game.

 
ABOUT UMASS LOWELL

• The River Hawks are 3-6 overall and will start their America East season against the Great Danes.
• UMass Lowell opened the season on the road at Boston U. (11/9) before winning their first game of the season at home, against Bryant, on Nov. 13.
• After falling in two games on the road - Michigan (11/16) and Northeastern (11/20) - the River Hawks saw two wins against Central Connecticut State (11/24) and Cornell (12/1).
• Most recently, UMass Lowell lost to Massachusetts (12/5), Towson (12/8), and Ohio University (12/20).
• Kharis Idom leads the team with 10.0 points per game (90 total). She also leads with 22 assists and 14 steals.
• Laura Vaida (80%, 4-5) and Sydney Coombs (54.2%, 13-24) lead with their respective shooting percentages. Jaliena Sanchez owns a team-high 50% shooting from outside the arc.
• Denise Solise leads on defense with 50 total rebounds (including a team-high of 20 offensive rebounds and 30 defensive rebounds) and seven blocks.
• As a team, UMass Lowell is hitting 33.9% from the field, 23% outside the arc, and 68% from the free-throw line.
• The River Hawks are averaging 53.5 points per game, 32.8 rebounds per game, and 10.6 assists per game.

 
PAST CONNECTIONS

• Assistant coach Yvonne Hawkins previously coached the River Hawks' assistant coach Stefanie Murphy. Hawkins, along with the rest of the coaching staff at Boston College, coached Murphy to win the Eagles' first ACC Rookie of the Year award in 2007.
• Head coach Colleen Mullen grew up near UMass Lowell. She would practice at Costello Athletic Center every day in the summers, attending UMass Lowell for both basketball and volleyball camps. When there wasn't an organized event taking place, the River Hawks coach would open the gym specifically for Mullen. Her family is also well-embedded within the Lowell community. Mullen's grandfather worked at the college for over 30 years while multiple aunts and uncles are alumni of UMass Lowell. One of her aunts is a current professor within the criminal justice department; she has been teaching there for over 20 years.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE RIVER HAWKS

• The Great Danes hold the lead in the all-time series, 15-11.
• Current head coach, Colleen Mullen, owns an even 3-3 series record against UMass Lowell.
• Her first year, 2018-19, the Great Danes saw two wins, but the River Hawks came back with their own two wins during the 2019-20 season.
• Most recently, UAlbany split the 2020-21 season with a win and a loss in late January.

 
AROUND THE AMERICA EAST

• NJIT leads the conference with a 3-0 America East record.
• UAlbany follows with a 1-0 record.
• Maine and Stony Brook have two conference wins on the season. Stony Brook has one loss and Maine has two. 
• Vermont sits even with a 1-1 record.
• Binghamton (0-1), New Hampshire (0-2), and Hartford (0-2) are still looking for their first America East win.
• UMass Lowell and UMBC have yet to begin their conference schedule.
• Following the close of the non-conference season Stony Brook (9-1), UAlbany (7-4), and Vermont (6-5) were the only three teams with a winning record. NJIT (5-6), Binghamton (4-6), UMass Lowell (3-6), Maine (3-7), New Hampshire (3-8), UMBC (1-9), and Hartford (0-11) each had losing records before the start of the conference season.

 
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEK

• Wednesday
  • NJIT at UMBC, 11 am
  • Vermont at Stony Brook, 6:30 pm
  • Binghamton at Hartford, postponed
  • UAlbany at UMass Lowell, 7 pm
• Thursday
  • New Hampshire at Maine, 7 pm
• Saturday
  • UMBC at Vermont, 1 pm
  • UAlbany at NJIT, 2 pm
  • UMass Lowell at Hartford, 2 pm
• Sunday
  • Stony Brook at New Hampshire, 1 pm
  • Maine at Binghamton, 2 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 continue their conference schedule on the road at NJIT on Saturday, January 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