SCORE: UAlbany 58, Merrimack 55
 
LOCATION: Hammel Court - North Andover, Mass.

RECORDS: UAlbany 1-0, 0-0 America East | Merrimack 0-1, 0-0 NEC
 
SHORT STORY: The Great Danes gradually gained a solid lead throughout three quarters until Merrimack caught up in the fourth. Holding true through a neck-and-neck final 10 minutes, UAlbany earned the game-one victory, Monday night.
 
COACH COLLEEN MULLEN: "I'm extremely proud of how the team battled tonight against a veteran, scrappy team in Merrimack. We made big plays and got key stops down the stretch. I couldn't be happier with our team's effort."
 
KEY STATS

• Graduate student Sarah Karpell led the Great Danes with 17 points, three assists, and two steals.
• Freshman Deja Evans led on the boards with six total rebounds.
• Senior Kayla Cooper and junior Lilly Phillips followed Karpell with 11 points each.
• Cooper held a team-high 60% accuracy from the field while both Karpell and junior Meghan Huerter went 2-3 from outside the arc.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Sarah Karpell scored the first points on the season with two successful free throw attempts.
• Three minutes into action, Merrimack tallied the first field goal but the Great Danes answered on the next possession as graduate student Helene Haegerstrand made a jumper in the paint.
• UAlbany continued what turned out to be eight consecutive points to gain a 10-2 lead with just under half of the first quarter left.
• The Warriors made up the difference with a couple of three-pointers as the first quarter ended in the Great Danes' favor, 15-14.
• Lilly Phillips opened the second quarter with UAlbany's first three-pointer of the season.
• Merrimack took a two-point lead but two consecutive three-pointers from Meghan Huerter returned the advantage to the Great Danes.
• It was a defensive show with only five baskets (free throws) made in the final five and half minutes of the first half. 
• Coming back from halftime down 27-22, the Warriors quickly closed the gap with a three-pointer on their first possession.
• UAlbany gradually gained a nine-point lead, 38-29, with baskets from Phillips, Karpell, and Kayla Cooper.
• Play continued back and forth in the second half of the third quarter as the Great Danes held a 45-37 lead once the horn sounded.
• The Warriors closed the scoring gap with a 10-3 scoring run in the beginning of the final quarter.
• With just over two minutes remaining in the game, Merrimack put the game within one point, 52-51.
• A three-pointer from Karpell gave the Great Danes some breathing room but the Warriors did not stop fighting.
• A Cooper free throw put the point gap at three, 58-55, with just 13 seconds remaining.
• As one play remained a possibility, the UAlbany defense held strong and the attempted three-pointer was no good to secure the game-one win.

 
NEXT: The Great Danes will continue on the road as they visit Fordham for a Friday night contest (Nov. 10).
 
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