ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany women's basketball team returns home to host UMass Lowell for a mid-week game.
 
Masks are required inside all buildings on campus.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
UMass Lowell at UAlbany
DATE: Wednesday, January 26
TIME: 7:00 PM
SITE: SEFCU Arena - Albany, N.Y.
RECORDS: UAlbany 11-6, 4-2 America East | UMass Lowell 6-7, 3-1 America East
SERIES RECORD: 16-11, UAlbany leads
STATS: UAlbanySports.com
TICKETS: UAlbanySports.com
STREAM: ESPN+
 
*records as of 1/25
 
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 own a 4-2 conference record.
• UAlbany has beaten New Hampshire (1/8), UMass Lowell (1/12), NJIT (1/15), and UMBC (1/19) in league play.
• Sophomore Kayla Cooper leads the team with 12.4 points per game (211 total) and 7.3 rebounds per game (124 total). Her 77 defensive and 47 offensive rebounds serve as team-highs. 
• Redshirt-sophomore Abby Robinson leads the team, shooting 85.7% (6-7) from 25 minutes of play in eight games. Senior Lucia Decortes holds a .576 (34-59) shooting percentage, leading all players who have seen the court for more than 40 minutes this season.
• Junior Helene Haegerstrand is shooting 38.2% (29-76) 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 25 steals. 
• Senior Lucia Decortes has compiled a team-high 25 blocks. Eleven 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 1,011 points scored in 17 games, the bench has tallied 229 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 41.7% from the field, 33.3% outside the arc, and 66.4% from the free-throw line. 
• The Great Danes are averaging 59.5 points per game, 36.4 rebounds per game, and 13.7 assists per game.

 
ABOUT UMASS LOWELL

• The River Hawks are 6-7 overall with a 3-1 conference record.
• 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 Riverhawks saw two wins against Central Connecticut State (11/24) and Cornell (12/1).
• Closing out their non-conference slate, UMass Lowell lost to Massachusetts (12/5), Towson (12/8), and Ohio University (12/20).
• After falling in their first America East contest to the Great Danes (1/12), the River Hawks have tallied three straight conference wins against UMBC (1/17), Maine (1/19), and New Hampshire (1/22).
• Denis Solis leads the team with 9.9 points per game (119 total). She also leads on the rebound with 5.6 per game (67 total). Both her 25 offensive rebounds and 42 defensive rebounds serve as team-highs. 
• Kharis Idom owns the team-high with 29 assists while Shamyjha Price leads with 20 steals.
• Laura Vaida (80%, 4-5) and Solis (56.2%, 50-89) serve as the River Hawks' best shooters overall and Jaliena Sanchez's 50% rate from outside the arc leads the team.
• On the block, Solis and Amaya Dowdy are tied with eight each.
• As a team, UMass Lowell is hitting 39.7% from the field, 33.0% outside the arc, and 67.4% from the free-throw line.
• The River Hawks are averaging 57.9 points per game, 34.0 rebounds per game, and 11.7 assists per game.

 
PAST CONNECTIONS

• Assistant coach Yvonne Hawkins previously coached the Riverhawks' 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 Riverhawks 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, 16-11.
• Current head coach, Colleen Mullen, owns a 4-3 series record against UMass Lowell.
• Her first year, 2018-19, the Great Danes saw two wins, but the Riverhawks came back with their own two wins during the 2019-20 season.
• UAlbany split the 2020-21 season with a win and a loss in late January.
• Earlier during the 2021-22 season, the Great Danes tallied a 58-52 win over the River Hawks.

 
AROUND THE AMERICA EAST

• Stony Brook leads the conference with a 6-1 record.
• UMass Lowell follows, 3-1. The River Hawks and the Seawolves are the only teams with just one conference loss.
• Vermont and NJIT are tied for third with a 5-2 America East record
• UAlbany is in the middle of the pack with a 4-2 record for a .667 win percentage.
• Maine sits even with a 3-3 record in sixth place.
• Hartford and New Hampshire have tallied one win each, tying for seventh.
• Binghamton and UMBC 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
  • Maine at New Hampshire, 4 pm
  • Stony Brook at Vermont, 6 pm
  • UMass Lowell at UAlbany, 7 pm
  • NJIT at UMBC, postponed
  • Hartford at Binghamton, 7 pm
• Saturday
  • NJIT at UAlbany, 2 pm
  • New Hampshire at Stony Brook, 2 pm
  • Hartford at UMass Lowell, 5 pm
  • Binghamton at UMBC, 5:30 pm
• Sunday
  • Vermont at Maine, 1 pm
• Monday
  • UMass Lowell at New Hampshire, 6 pm
  • UAlbany at Binghamton, 6 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

• UAlbany will continue at home hosting NJIT on Saturday, January 29. Throughout their weekend game, the Great Danes will be celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day.

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