SCORE: UAlbany 57, Cornell 45
 
LOCATION: Newman Arena at Bartels Hall - Ithaca, N.Y.

RECORDS: UAlbany 3-1, 0-0 America East | Cornell 2-2, 0-0 Ivy League
 
SHORT STORY: With a defense-first mentality, the Great Danes held Cornell to just 20 points in the first half. Expanding upon its defensive atmosphere, UAlbany tallied 22 points in the third quarter on the way to a 12-point victory, Wednesday night.
 
COACH COLLEEN MULLEN: "I am extremely proud of our defensive effort and grit today. I thought we handled their pressure and changing defenses with poise and composure. It was great to have everybody contribute in a huge road win for our team."
 
KEY STATS

• Three Great Danes tallied double-digit points with graduate student Helene Haegerstrand leading (17) and freshman Deja Evans (15) and junior Lilly Phillips (10) following.
• Senior Kayla Cooper led the team's defensive efforts with nine rebounds and two blocks.
• As the team totaled seven steals, Evans led with two.
• Playing for each other, the Great Danes compiled 13 assists. Graduate student Sarah Karpell owned a team-high six. Cooper and junior Abby Ray followed with three each.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After a back-and-forth first quarter, the Great Danes held a one-possession lead, 16-14.
• UAlbany scored the first two baskets for a 4-0 lead after one minute but the Big Red came back with a 9-2 scoring run for a 9-6 lead with 5:12 on the first-quarter clock.
• The Great Danes regained the advantage after a three-pointer from Helene Haegerstrand and, after another Cornell layup, Haegerstrand added a jumper to put the team up, 16-14, with just over one minute remaining in the quarter.
• In a low-scoring second quarter, the Great Danes held the Big Red to just six points, while scoring 12 of their own.
• Cornell opened the second quarter with a layup to tie the score.
• UAlbany answered with a 10-2 scoring run to take an eight-point advantage, the largest of the game thus far.
• For the second straight quarter, Haegerstrand closed out the action with a layup on the final UAlbany possession of the half.
• Expanding their offense in the third quarter, the Great Danes outscored the Big Red, 22-8.
• Rookie Deja Evans blossomed as she scored half of the team's third-quarter points, including every single point in the final 94 seconds of the quarter.
• UAlbany held Cornell's attempts at field goals off until halfway through the quarter. In total, the Big Red tallied just two field goals, both three-pointers, in the third.
• As the Great Danes headed into the final quarter with a 22-point advantage, Cornell kicked up its scoring with three consecutive baskets (five points) to close the point gap.
• Outscoring UAlbany, the Big Red held the offensive advantage in the fourth quarter, 17-7, but after a strong showing in the first three quarters, the Great Danes were able to hold on to its lead and take a 12-point win, 57-45.

 
NEXT: The Great Danes are set to travel to the West Coast to take on perennial NCAA Tournament qualifier, Stanford, on Sunday (Nov. 26).
 
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 & Threads - @ualbanywbb
Facebook – facebook.com/UAlbanyWBB