SCORE: Maine 64, UAlbany 55
 
LOCATION: The Pit in Memorial Gymnasium - Orono, Maine
 
RECORDS: UAlbany 16-7, 9-3 America East | Maine 12-10, 9-3 America East
 
SHORT STORY: The Great Danes held the lead through the first quarter but after seven lead changes throughout the final three quarters, the Black Bears tallied the 64-55 win, Wednesday night.
 
COACH COLLEEN MULLEN: "Maine hit big shots and made big plays down the stretch. Unfortunately, they were able to capitalize on some uncharacteristic defensive breakdowns during key possessions. That was a tough environment to play in and I'm very proud of how our team competed and battled the entire 40 minutes. We will focus on learning and growing from this game."
 
KEY STATS

• Sophomore Kayla Cooper led the team with 17 points and two steals.
• Junior Helene Haegerstrand and redshirt-sophomore Morgan Haney also tallied double-digit points with 12 and 13 respectively. Both Haegerstrand and Haney led the team with a 55.6% accuracy from the field.
• Haney earned a team-high 75% accuracy from outside the arc, making three of her four attempts.
• Senior Lucia Decortes led at the post with seven rebounds while senior Ellen Hahne followed with six and a team-high four offensive rebounds.
• Decortes also led the team with three assists.
• As a team, the Great Danes totaled 12 offensive rebounds, to Maine's five, and eight steals, to Maine's six. 
• UAlbany's bench outscored Maine's bench, 22-0.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After Lucia Decortes won the jump ball, Helene Haegerstrand opened the scoring with a three-pointer. Sophomore Lilly Phillips followed with a steal and a layup and the Great Danes took a 5-0 lead in 31 seconds of play.
• For the following five minutes, the game remained a one-possession contest but UAlbany gained a 14-8 advantage when Morgan Haney made a three-pointer at 3:53.
• The Great Danes tallied their first scoring run in the middle of the first quarter to help secure a 17-12 lead at the conclusion of the first 10 minutes of play.
• The second quarter started as much of the first quarter was played - with both Maine and UAlbany trading baskets.
• The Black Bears took a one-point lead at 7:10 but Kayla Cooper went for a layup to retake the lead for the Great Danes.
• After two scoreless minutes, Maine tallied three baskets in a row to gain a 26-21 lead with 2:52 left in the half.
• UAlbany followed with three layups - two from Cooper, one from Ellen Hahne - to shortly retake the lead, 27-26, at 1:09 but Maine closed the half with two unanswered baskets to gain a 31-27 halftime lead.
• The Great Danes opened the second half with two baskets to tie the score at 31 with 8:33 on the clock.
• Throughout much of the third quarter, the contest was a one-possession game.
• Maine added a layup at 1:19 to make it 43-38 Black Bears, but UAlbany answered with a three-pointer just 22 seconds later to return it to a one-possession game.
• Beginning the final quarter with a 45-43 lead, Maine added two layups and UAlbany added two free throws in the first minute.
• At 7:49 in the fourth, Freja Werth made a successful three-pointer and Haegerstrand followed it with a jumper to give the Great Danes their final lead of the game, 50-49.
• Both teams traded baskets throughout the rest of the game but Maine came away with the win, 64-55.

 
NEXT: The Great Danes will return home to start the series against Vermont on Saturday, February 12.

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