SCORE: Louisville 83, UAlbany 51
 
LOCATION: KFC Yum! Center - Louisville, Kentucky
 
RECORDS: UAlbany 23-10, 13-5 America East | Louisville 26-4, 16-2 ACC
 
SHORT STORY: After a rough first half, the Great Danes outscored the Cardinals in the third quarter but it was not enough to earn the win, Friday evening.

COACH COLLEEN MULLEN: "I am so proud of this team and what they have accomplished this season. Tonight was a team effort and our players fought through adversity the entire game. Louisville is talented at every position and is a national championship contender. Tonight the team showed fight, character, and pride on the national stage. What amazing ambassadors for the University and athletic department. With everyone returning next season, the future of Great Dane basketball is bright!"
  
KEY STATS

• Sophomore Kayla Cooper led the Great Danes with 14 points, six rebounds (three offensive), and four assists.
• Senior Ellen Hahne followed closely with 11 points, six rebounds, and two assists.
• Freshman Koi Sims made the most of her field goal attempts going 3-5 from the field.
• Three Great Danes shot 50% from the field - Cooper (5-10), redshirt-sophomore Morgan Haney (3-6), and freshman Lilly Phillips (1-2). 
• Junior Fatima Lee and freshman Freja Werth each tallied a block.
• Three UAlbany student-athletes totaled two steals each - Hahne, Cooper, and Werth. 
• As a team, the Great Danes went 7-7 from the line with Cooper making four free throws, Phillips tallying two, and junior Helene Haegerstrand going 1-1.
• UAlbany outscored the Cardinals in the third quarter, 18-17, and held Louisville to a 35-31 advantage in the second half.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Cardinals took the jump ball and turned it into two-straight baskets to get up 5-0 less than a minute into the game.
• Grace Heeps answered for the Great Danes with a three-pointer to make it 5-3 with 8:38 on the clock.
• After the third basket from Louisville, Ellen Hahne and Kayla Cooper tallied two-straight baskets to put the game within one, 8-7, less than three minutes into the game.
• The Cardinals jumped to a 19-7 lead with 3:22 remaining in the quarter but the Great Danes defense put together six-straight stops to close the first 10-minute period.
• UAlbany opened the second quarter with baskets from Cooper, Helene Haegerstrand, and Hahne to put together a 9-0 run to close the scoring gap. The Cardinals held the advantage, 21-16, at 6:46. 
• Stopping the Great Danes' run and creating one of their own, Louisville tallied 14 points in three and a half minutes to go up, 35-16, with 3:12 left in the half.
• UAlbany entered halftime down, 48-20.
• Hahne made the first basket of the second half one minute in.
• Made baskets went back and forth until Cooper notched two in a row in the third and fourth minutes.
• Koi Sims and Morgan Haney each scored a jumper in the sixth minute with Hahne dropping a three-pointer with 2:49 on the third-quarter clock. 
• Cooper made a turnaround jumper at 00:40 to close a quarter in which the Great Danes outscored the Cardinals, 18-17.
• The teams traded baskets in the first three minutes of the final quarter but Louisville advanced their lead with three-straight baskets at the midway point. 
• Cooper and Sims notched back-to-back layups at 3:36 and 2:56, respectively.
• Scoring off Louisville turnover, Haney made the final basket for the Great Danes with 1:03 on the clock.
• UAlbany held the Cardinals to 35 points in the second half, scoring just behind them with 31 Great Dane points.

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