ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany women's basketball team is set to host the first of two home games this week against Bryant.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
Bryant at UAlbany
DATE: Wednesday, January 11
TIME: 7:00 PM
SITE: McDonough Sports Complex (HVCC) - Troy, N.Y.
RECORDS: UAlbany 10-8, 4-0 America East | Bryant 5-11, 0-4 America East
SERIES RECORD: 1-1, series tied
STATS: UAlbanySports.com
TICKETS: UAlbanySports.com
STREAM: ESPN+
INT'L STREAM: AE.TV
 
All UAlbany students are welcome to enjoy all UAlbany Athletics events for FREE with their student ID. Come out and support the Great Danes with the scan of a card - tactile or mobile. This year, all HVCC students are welcome to UAlbany events FREE with their student ID.
 
HEAD COACH COLLEEN MULLEN
"Bryant has a well-balanced, inside-out attack. They have a high-powered offense with many threats. They're scrappy on the defensive end and look to change up defensive looks. We need to execute our game plan and compete for 40 minutes on that end. Offensively, we need to limit unforced turnovers and battle on the boards to get second-chance opportunities."
 
GREAT DANE REWIND

• UAlbany opened the season 3-0 with victories over Merrimack (11/11), Siena (11/13), and Navy (11/16).
• Before heading to the UNLV Thanksgiving Tournament to compete against UNLV (11/25), ETSU (11/26), and Stetson (11/17), the Great Danes hosted Colgate (11/19) for their first loss of the season.
• Closing out November, UAlbany visited Canisius for its fourth victory (11/30). The Great Danes came back from a 10-point deficit in the beginning of the second half to take the 11-point victory.
• Hosting its final non-conference game of 2022, UAlbany fell in a close matchup to Cornell (12/3).
• The Great Danes saw a five-game road streak throughout December. Beginning with a win at Dartmouth (12/6) and a loss at Boston College (12/10), UAlbany defeated Stonehill (12/14) before falling to #3 Ohio State (12/16). 
• The Great Danes closed the non-conference season with a loss at Syracuse (12/21).
• In the first week of conference play, UAlbany opened with a 60-46 victory over Vermont (12/29) before defeating New Hampshire, 71-46, on the road (1/1).
• Most recently, the Great Danes earned a close victory, 61-53, against UMBC (1/4) before defeating UMass Lowell on the road (1/7).
• Junior Kayla Cooper leads the team with a .517 field goal percentage and senior Helene Haegerstrand leads from outside the arc (40.4%).
• Ellen Hahne leads the team with 14.1 points per game, 42 assists, and 17 steals.
• Haegerstrand owns a team-high seven blocks. Senior Grace Heeps and graduate student Lucia Decortes follow with six each.
• Cooper owns a team-high 6.4 rebounds per game from seven contests. Hahne follows with 5.6 rebounds per game.
• As a team, UAlbany is hitting 42.6% from the field, 33.8% outside the arc, and 73.9% from the free-throw line. The Great Danes are averaging 57.6 points per game and 33.0 rebounds per game with 11.8 assists per game, 5.7 steals per game, and 1.9 blocks per game.

 
ABOUT BRYANT

• The Bulldogs are 5-11 with four conference losses.
• After opening the season with two wins against Dartmouth (11/7) and Emerson (11/12), Bryant fell in four-straight games - Pittsburgh (11/16), Penn State (11/18), Loyola (Md.) (11/21), and Weber State (11/25).
• Closing out the non-conference schedule, the Bulldogs added wins against Hartford (11/26), Sacred Heart (12/7), and Mitchell (12/18) with losses to Providence (11/27), CCSU (12/3), and Stonehill (12/11). 
• In its first year in the America East, Bryant has faced Maine (12/29), Binghamton (1/1), Vermont (1/4), and UMBC (1/7), to start conference play. 
• In two conference games, the Bulldogs finished the game down by one point - Binghamton (57-56) and Vermont (68-67 - OT).
• With a 52.4% accuracy from the field, Mariona Planes Fortuny leads the team with 16.8 points per game. Planes Fortuny also leads with 5.6 rebounds per game and 20 blocks.
• Marta Neira Martinez leads in transition with 27 steals while Kemari Reynolds owns a team-high 47 assists.
• As a team, the Bulldogs are hitting 41.9% from the field, 35.7% outside the arc, and 74.4% from the free-throw line. Bryant is averaging 66.5 points per game and 36.9 rebounds per game with 12.2 assists per game, 8.4 steals per game, and 3.2 blocks per game.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE BULLDOGS

• The all-time series is tied, 1-1.
• Current head coach, Colleen Mullen, is the only coach to lead the Great Danes in games against Bryant.
• The series began in 2019-20 with a UAlbany loss, 68-55, on the road on December 20, 2019. 
• The Great Danes followed up with a win, 60-34, at home on December 1, 2021.

 
AROUND THE AMERICA EAST

• UAlbany leads the two undefeated teams in the America East with four wins. Maine follows with three.
• In four games, UMBC has a 3-1 record. Also recording one loss, Binghamton and NJIT each have two wins.
• Vermont sits in sixth place with an even 2-2 record.
• UMass Lowell (0-3), Bryant (0-4), and New Hampshire (0-4) are each looking for their first win.

 
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEK

• Wednesday
  • UMass Lowell at Vermont, 11 am
  • Bryant at UAlbany, 7 pm
  • NJIT at Binghamton, 7 pm
  • Maine at New Hampshire, 7 pm
• Saturday
  • Binghamton at UMass Lowell, 1 pm
  • New Hampshire at Bryant, 1 pm
  • UMBC at Maine, 1 pm
  • NJIT at UAlbany, 3 pm

 
WHAT'S UP, PRESEASON

• With seven first-place votes and 59 total points, the Great Dane women's basketball team was picked to finish first in the conference in the preseason coaches' poll. Maine was just behind them with 54 points while Vermont came in third with 46 points and one first-place vote.
• Last season's offensive and defensive leaders, respectively, Helene Haegerstrand and Kayla Cooper were named to the America East Preseason All-Conference Team.
• UAlbany added three new players to the roster for the 2022-23 season - Taylor Moffat, Karyn Sanford, and Marie Sepp.

 
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

• The Great Danes will continue at home hosting NJIT on January 14.

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