SCORE: UAlbany 49, New Hampshire 44
 
LOCATION: SEFCU Arena - Albany, N.Y.
 
RECORDS: UAlbany 21-9, 13-5 America East | New Hampshire 7-21, 4-12 America East
 
SHORT STORY: The Great Danes and the Wildcats made it a game of back-and-forth ball until the UAlbany offense exploded in the fourth quarter for a 49-44 victory, Saturday afternoon.
 
COACH COLLEEN MULLEN: "I am so proud of the way the team responded today, and felt our defense was a huge factor, again, in the win. Offensively, we relied on players coming in and being ready to play. This win reinforces that our depth and balance as a team is what makes this group so special."
 
KEY STATS

• UAlbany outshot New Hampshire .408-.340. The defense held the Wildcats to a 14% accuracy from outside the arc while the Great Danes made 31% of their three-point attempts.
• Sophomore Kayla Cooper led the team with 14 points. She went 7-11 for a 64% accuracy from the field.
• Freshman Freja Werth went 4-4 from downtown to follow with 12 points.
• On defense, junior Helene Haeerstrand led with two blocks while senior Ellen Hahne tallied six rebounds to lead on post.
• Redshirt-sophomore Morgan Haney led in transition with three steals and three assists. 
• The UAlbany bench proved to be a game-changer, scoring 26 of the Great Danes' 49 points.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Kayla Cooper scored the first basket of the game 30 seconds in. After New Hampshire notched a three-pointer, Cooper made a second basket for the Great Danes.
• Play, and the lead, continued back-and-forth throughout the first quarter. 
• A last-minute basket from senior Lucia Decortes sent UAlbany into the second quarter with a three-point lead, 12-9.
• The second proved to be a very even quarter as the Wildcats held the slight edge in points, 11-10.
• The Great Danes notched two baskets in a row from Ellen Hahne and Helene Haegerstrand for a 16-11 lead with 6:41 left in the half.
• The Wildcats caught up with their own two-in-a-row basket grab to come within one point of UAlbany at 2:36.
• With 1:09 on the second-quarter clock, a Lilly Phillips layup gave the Great Danes a six-point lead.
• New Hampshire worked in the final minute and UAlbany entered halftime with a 22-20 lead.
• The Wildcats held the Great Danes scoreless for the first two and half minutes of the second half. 
• New Hampshire took the lead at the midway mark (5:17) after tying the score twice throughout the first five minutes of play. They proceeded to extend that lead with an 8-0 scoring run.
• Entering the final quarter down, 33-31, UAlbany's offense exploded.
• Cooper opened the quarter with two baskets in 90 seconds before getting a third with 7:18 on the clock.
• The game remained back-and-forth throughout the middle of the quarter.
• The Great Danes ran away with the lead after Freja Werth knocked down a three-pointer with 2:04 on the clock to give UAlbany a 47-43 lead. 
• After a couple of free throw attempts from both teams, the Great Danes notched a 49-44 America East Quarterfinal win.

 
NEXT: As the #2 seed, the Great Danes will host a semifinal round against #3 Vermont on Tuesday, March 8 with a 7 pm tip.

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