ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany women's basketball team returns home to host UMBC for their Commitment to Education Day.
 
For this afternoon game, the Great Danes will be inviting groups from various Capital Region schools. The kids will enjoy a women's basketball game with content centered towards education.
 
Masks are required inside all buildings on campus.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
UMBC at UAlbany
DATE: Wednesday, January 19
TIME: 11:00 AM
SITE: SEFCU Arena - Albany, N.Y.
RECORDS: UAlbany 10-5, 3-1 America East | UMBC 1-12, 0-3 America East
SERIES RECORD: 24-14, UAlbany leads
STATS: UAlbanySports.com
TICKETS: UAlbanySports.com
STREAM: ESPN+
 
*records as of 1/18
 
HEAD COACH COLLEEN MULLEN
"UMBC is an athletic team that has many scoring threats. We need to defend the paint and keep them off the boards. Offensively, we need to handle their pressure and take care of the ball."
 
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 five losses on the road - Boston College (11/28), Cornell (11/24), Merrimack (11/16), Vanderbilt (12/8), and Hartford (1/17).
• 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 are third in the America East standings with a 3-1 conference record.
• UAlbany has beaten New Hampshire (1/8), UMass Lowell (1/12), and NJIT (1/15) in league play.
• Sophomore Kayla Cooper leads the team with 12.1 points per game (182 total) and 7.4 rebounds per game (111 total). Her 71 defensive and 40 offensive rebounds serve as team-highs. 
• 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.
• Junior Helene Haegerstrand is shooting 42.9% (27-63) from outside the arc to lead the team.
• Freshman Lilly Phillips owns a team-high 44 assists.
• Redshirt-sophomore Morgan Haney owns the transition spotlight with 20 steals. 
• Senior Lucia Decortes has compiled a team-high 19 blocks. Ten players on the 13-person roster have totaled at least two 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 895 points scored in 15 games, the bench has tallied 197 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 41.4% from the field, 34.6% outside the arc, and 67.0% from the free-throw line. 
• The Great Danes are averaging 59.7 points per game, 36.6 rebounds per game, and 13.7 assists per game.

 
ABOUT UMBC

• The Retrievers are 1-12 on the season with a 0-3 America East record.
• UMBC began its season with its sole win, a 79-33 victory against Gettysburg on November 9.
• The Retrievers followed their win with nine non-conference losses to close out 2021 - Colgate (11/13), Loyola (Md.) (11/17), Richmond (11/21), Wake Forest (11/27), American (12/1), St. Francis Brooklyn (12/5), Lafayette (12/9), Howard (12/13), and Syracuse (12/18).
• After returning from a break, UMBC began America East play with a loss against NJIT (1/12), a loss at Vermont (1/15), and, most recently, a loss at UMass Lowell (1/17).
• Janee'a Summers leads the team with 12.6 points per game (139 total). 
• Leading those who have seen more than 40 minutes of play, Onome-Juliet Esadah holds a .524 shooting percentage. Danae Marquez leads shooting 37.5% from outside the arc.
• On the rebound, Esadah owns a team-high 7.6 rebounds per game (99 total). Her 51 defensive and 48 offensive rebounds lead the team.
• Marquez owns the team-high with 31 assists.
• In transition, Alexia Nelson leads with 20 steals. 
• On the block, two student-athletes have tallied three to lead the Retrievers - Jasmine Braswell and Antonia May. 
• As a team, UMBC is hitting 37.8% from the field, 30.1% outside the arc, and 73.5% from the free-throw line.
• The Retrievers are averaging 56.2 points per game, 33.5 rebounds per game, and 10.6 assists per game.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE RETRIEVERS

• The Great Danes hold the lead in the all-time series, 24-14.
• Current head coach, Colleen Mullen, is tied with three wins and three losses to UMBC.
• Each year Coach Mullen has been at UAlbany, the Great Danes have tallied one win and one loss.
• During 2020-21, UAlbany won, 66-56, on Saturday, December 19 and UMBC won, 61-52, on Sunday, December 20.

 
AROUND THE AMERICA EAST

• NJIT and Stony Brook lead the conference, each with a 4-1 record.
• UAlbany sits in third with a 3-1 record.
• Maine is in fourth with a 3-2 conference record.
• After four games, Vermont has an even 2-2 America East record.
• UMass Lowell and Hartford grabbed their first America East win on Monday (Jan. 17).
• Binghamton, UMBC, and New Hampshire are still in the hunt for their first league win.
• 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
  • UMBC at UAlbany, 11 am
  • NJIT at Vermont, 6 pm
  • Hartford at New Hampshire, 6 pm
  • Binghamton at Stony Brook, 7 pm
  • UMass Lowell at Maine, 7 pm
• Friday
  • Hartford at Vermont, 2 pm
• Saturday
  • New Hampshire at UMass Lowell, 1 pm
  • UAlbany at Stony Brook, 2 pm
  • Binghamton at NJIT, 3 pm
  • Maine at UMBC, 5:30 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 head on the road to take on Stony Brook at 2 pm on Saturday, January 22.

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