ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany women's basketball team is set to host the second of two home games this week against NJIT.
 
The Great Danes are set to welcome and honor a group of alumnae during halftime.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
NJIT at UAlbany
DATE: Saturday, January 14
TIME: 3:00 PM
SITE: McDonough Sports Complex (HVCC) - Troy, N.Y.
RECORDS: UAlbany 11-8, 5-0 America East | NJIT 8-8, 3-1 America East
SERIES RECORD: 5-1, UAlbany leads
STATS: UAlbanySports.com
TICKETS: UAlbanySports.com
STREAM: ESPN3
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.
 
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).
• UAlbany has won its last five games to go 5-0 in conference play for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
• The Great Danes opened America East action with two double-digit wins over Vermont (12/29) and New Hampshire (1/1) before taking UMBC in an eight-point win, 61-53 (1/4).
• Returning to double-digit victories, UAlbany took UMass Lowell (1/7), 62-38, and Bryant (1/11), 63-50.
• Junior Kayla Cooper leads the team with a .563 field goal percentage and senior Helene Haegerstrand leads from outside the arc (40%).
• Haegerstrand leads the team with 13.9 points per game. Graduate student Ellen Hahne (13.4) and Cooper (12.9) each average above 10 points per game.
• Cooper owns a team-high 7.0 rebounds per game from eight contests. Hahne follows with 5.3 rebounds per game.
• Hahne owns team-highs with 44 assists and 18 steals while Haegerstrand and graduate student Lucia Decortes lead with eight blocks each.
• As a team, UAlbany is hitting 43.1% from the field, 33.7% outside the arc, and 74.3% from the free-throw line. The Great Danes are averaging 57.8 points per game and 33.2 rebounds per game with 11.8 assists per game, 5.7 steals per game, and 2.2 blocks per game.

 
ABOUT NJIT

• The Highlanders are 8-8 on the season with three conference wins in four contests.
• After opening the season with a win at Rider (11/7), NJIT went on to fall against Lafayette (11/11) and Rutgers (11/13).
• Ahead of Thanksgiving, the Highlanders added three-straight wins - St. Francis Brooklyn (11/16), CCSU (11/19), and LIU (11/22). 
• NJIT closed out the non-conference slate with a win over Saint Peter's (12/10) and losses to Monmouth (11/27), Fairleigh Dickinson (11/30), Norfolk State (12/3), Colgate (12/7), and Wagner (12/17).
• Opening America East action with two wins over New Hampshire (12/29) and UMass Lowell (1/1), the Highlanders fell against Maine (1/7).
• Most recently, NJIT earned a road win at Binghamton (1/11).
• Trinity Williams leads the team with over 50% accuracy from the field. 
• Alejandra Zuniga (10.3), Williams (10.2), and Aria Meyers (10.1) each average more than 10 points per game.
• Williams also leads on defense with 5.8 rebounds per game and 24 blocks.
• Lyzi Litwinko tops the team in transition with 34 assists and 18 steals.
• As a team, the Highlanders are hitting 40.9% from the field, 28.9% outside the arc, and 62.5% from the free-throw line. NJIT is averaging 59.1 points per game and 36.4 rebounds per game with 10.5 assists per game, 5.4 steals per game, and 3.8 blocks per game.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE HIGHLANDERS

• The Great Danes lead the all-time series, 5-1.
• Current head coach, Colleen Mullen, has led the Great Danes through two wins over NJIT.
• UAlbany swept the series against the Highlanders throughout the 2021-22 season. With both games in January, the Great Danes won, 62-54, on the road (1/15) before taking a four-point victory, 57-53, at home (1/29). 

 
AROUND THE AMERICA EAST

• UAlbany leads the two undefeated teams in the America East with five wins. Maine follows with three.
• In four games, NJIT and UMBC each have a 3-1 record. 
• Vermont follows with a 3-2 league record.
• Binghamton sits in sixth place with an even 2-2 record.
• UMass Lowell (0-4), New Hampshire (0-4), and Bryant (0-5) are each looking for their first win.

 
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEK

• Saturday
  • Binghamton at UMass Lowell, 1 pm
  • UMBC at Maine, 1 pm
  • NJIT at UAlbany, 3 pm
• Monday
  • New Hampshire at Bryant, 1 pm
• Wednesday
  • UMass Lowell at UMBC, 11 am
  • Bryant at NJIT, 11:30 am
  • UAlbany at Binghamton, 7 pm
  • Vermont at Maine, 7 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 head on the road, visiting Binghamton, on January 18 before a single-game bye on January 21.

 
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