SCORE: UAlbany 53, Hartford 24
 
LOCATION: SEFCU Arena - Albany, N.Y.
 
RECORDS: UAlbany 16-6, 9-2 America East | Hartford 2-17, 2-6 America East
 
SHORT STORY: The Great Danes held the Hawks to single-digit points in each quarter to take the 53-24 victory, Saturday afternoon.
 
COACH COLLEEN MULLEN: "I am so proud of our defensive effort tonight. The players executed a terrific game plan, and we played four quarters of team basketball. Offensively, we shared the ball well and had a balanced attack."
 
KEY STATS

• Sophomore Kayla Cooper led the team with 12 points while freshman Freja Werth followed with 10 points.
• Senior Lucia Decortes led the defense with 10 rebounds (six defensive) and four blocks. She also owned a team-high five assists.
• Cooper and redshirt-sophomore Morgan Haney totaled three steals each to lead the team.
• Freshman Lilly Phillips went 3-3, including making both of her baskets from outside the arc.
• As a team, the Great Danes outrebounded the Hawks, 33-22.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Hawks began the scoring with a basket at 8:16 but the Great Danes' junior Grace Heeps answered just 18 seconds later with a three-pointer for a lead UAlbany would not let go of.
• A low-scoring first quarter, the Great Danes earned a lead, 12-6, heading into the second quarter.
• Hartford tallied the first two field goals of the second quarter but UAlbany advanced its lead with a 10-4 scoring run in the final two and a half minutes of the half.
• The Great Danes closed the first half with a 25-14 advantage.
• For the third time, the Hawks earned the first basket of the quarter in the second minute of play after the halftime break.
• UAlbany answered with an 11-0 scoring run that lasted six minutes after beginning at 7:44. Hartford closed the Great Danes' run with a free throw at 1:44.
• UAlbany held the Hawks to just three baskets in the final quarter.
• Led by their defense, the Great Danes scored 17 points in the fourth quarter to take the victory, 53-24. 

 
NEXT: The Great Danes will head to Maine to take on the defending America East Regular-Season Champions for the first time this season.

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