ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany women's basketball team continues on the road at NJIT.
 
Masks are required inside all buildings on campus. Proof of vaccination will be required to enter the facility.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
UAlbany at NJIT
DATE: Saturday, January 15
TIME: 2:00 PM
SITE: NJIT Wellness and Events Center - Newark, N.J.
RECORDS: UAlbany 9-4, 2-0 America East | NJIT 9-6, 4-0 America East
SERIES RECORD: 3-1, UAlbany leads
STATS: NJITHighlanders.com
TICKETS: NJITHighlanders.com
STREAM: ESPN3
 
*records as of 1/13
 
HEAD COACH COLLEEN MULLEN
"NJIT is the hottest team in our league right now. They are undefeated in large part to their talented backcourt and rebounding. We will need a total team defensive effort and sharp offensive execution to earn the road win. We need to bring toughness and compete for all 40 minutes."
 
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 (1/8) before tallying a road win over UMass Lowell (1/12). 
• Junior Helene Haegerstrand leads the team with 151 points (11.6 per game), shooting a team-high 42.6% (23-54) 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 92 (7.1 per game). Cooper also leads with 62 defensive rebounds while Decortes and Cooper lead with 30 offensive rebounds each.
• Freshman Lilly Phillips owns a team-high 35 assists.
• Decortes and redshirt-sophomore Morgan Haney share the transition spotlight 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 784 points scored in 13 games, the bench has tallied 184 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 41.5% from the field, 34.5% outside the arc, and 67.2% from the free-throw line. 
• The Great Danes are averaging 60.3 points per game, 37.3 rebounds per game, and 13.8 assists per game.

 
ABOUT NJIT

• The Highlanders are 9-6 overall with a 4-0 America East record.
• NJIT opened the season with two losses - Wagner (11/9) and Marquette (11/12) - before tallying its first win at Wisconsin (11/14).
• The Highlanders closed out November with a third loss - Fairleigh Dickinson (11/24) - and three wins - LIU (11/18), CCSU (11/21), and Saint Peter's (11/27).
• After three losses to begin December - Rider (12/1), Lafayette (12/4), and Monmouth (12/8) - NJIT began a five-game win streak.
• Once they closed non-conference play at St. Francis Brooklyn (12/11), the Highlanders returned to beat Stony Brook (12/30), Maine (1/2), Binghamton (1/8), and UMBC (1/12) for a 4-0 America East record.
• Jenna Squier leads the team with 180 points (12.0 per game). 
• Kimi Evans owns the team-highs shooting 56% (56-100) from the field and 42.9% (3-7) from outside the arc. Evans also leads with 18 blocks.
• Lyzi Litwinko leads the team on the boards with 104 total rebounds and 95 defensive rebounds. Squier owns a team-high 29 offensive rebounds.
• Litwinko and Squier are tied with 37 assists each. Squier also owns the team-high with 23 steals.
• As a team, NJIT is hitting 42.6% from the field, 29.8% outside the arc, and 68.4% from the free-throw line.
• The Highlanders are averaging 60.7 points per game, 36.0 rebounds per game, and 10.8 assists per game.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE HIGHLANDERS

• The Great Danes hold the lead in the all-time series, 3-1.
• Current head coach, Colleen Mullen, has yet to face NJIT after the 2020-21 games were postponed.
• Most recently, UAlbany beat NJIT, 75-64, on December 10, 2013, before the Highlanders were members of the America East Conference.

 
AROUND THE AMERICA EAST

• NJIT leads the conference with a 4-0 America East record.
• UAlbany follows with a 2-0 record.
• Stony Brook pulled ahead for third-place with three wins and one loss.
• Maine sits just below in conference play with a 3-2 record.
• After three games, Vermont has a 1-2 America East record.
• Binghamton, UMass Lowell, and UMBC each have one loss while Hartford has two and New Hampshire has three.
• 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

• Saturday
  • UMBC at Vermont, 1 pm
  • UAlbany at NJIT, 2 pm
  • UMass Lowell at Hartford, postponed
• 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 Hartford on Monday, January 17.

 
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