ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany women's basketball team returns to the Capital Region for their final home game of the regular season.
 
In a combination of themes, the Great Danes are set for a night of Autism Acceptance and honoring the international players.
 
Ahead of the game, UAlbany will honor their seniors - Fatima Lee, Ellen Hahne, Lucia Decortes, Grace Heeps, Morgan Haney, Helene Haegerstrand, and Taniya Hanner. In combination with the International Players Night and Senior Night, the flags from our seniors' native countries - Sweden, Italy, and the USA -  will be available to fans to wave throughout the night.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
Maine at UAlbany
DATE: Saturday, February 18
TIME: 7:00 PM
SITE: McDonough Sports Complex (HVCC) - Troy, N.Y.
RECORDS: UAlbany 18-10, 12-2 America East | Maine 13-12, 9-4 America East
SERIES RECORD: 31-20, Maine 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.
 
HEAD COACH COLLEEN MULLEN
"Maine is a well-coached, disciplined team that has a great inside-out attack. We need to play team defense and finish possessions. Offensively, we want to continue to have great ball and player movement. We want to be the tougher team for 40 minutes and win every 50/50 play. In addition, we are looking forward to celebrating our talented senior class as well as promote acceptance and inclusion for individuals and families that are affected by autism."
 
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), they defeated Stonehill (12/14) before falling to #3 Ohio State (12/16). 
• UAlbany closed the non-conference season with a loss at Syracuse (12/21).
• The Great Danes started conference play with eight-straight victories for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
• UAlbany tied a season-high with 73 points in a 73-54 win over NJIT (1/14).
• Traveling to Maine (1/28), the Great Danes saw their first conference loss in a one-point game, 50-49.
• Nearing an end to the regular season, UAlbany swept the series against New Hampshire, UMass Lowell, Binghamton, Bryant, and UMBC while splitting against Vermont. In the series against the Catamounts, each team won its home game.
• Throughout conference play, the Great Danes earned double-digit victories in eight contests - Vermont (12/29), New Hampshire (1/1), UMass Lowell (1/7), Bryant (1/11), NJIT (1/14), New Hampshire (1/25), Bryant (2/8), Binghamton (2/11).
• UAlbany's recent contest against the Bearcats resulted in the first overtime game since November 5, 2019 - a win over Columbia.
• Junior Kayla Cooper leads the team with a .513 field goal percentage and senior Helene Haegerstrand leads from outside the arc (41.2%).
• Haegerstrand leads the team with 15.0 points per game. Junior Kayla Cooper is close behind with 14.7 points per game while graduate student Ellen Hahne follows with 11.8.
• On defense, Cooper owns a team-high 7.9 rebounds per game.
• Hahne owns team-highs with 64 assists and 31 steals while Haegerstrand leads with 19 blocks.
• As a team, UAlbany is hitting 42.3% from the field, 33.4% outside the arc, and 72.4% from the free-throw line. The Great Danes are averaging 58.9 points per game and 35.0 rebounds per game with 11.6 assists per game, 6.3 steals per game, and 2.8 blocks per game.

 
ABOUT MAINE

• The Black Bears are 13-12 on the season with nine conference wins in 13 contests.
• Maine opened the season at James Madison (11/7) with a close 60-58 win.
• After two losses against UMass (11/14) and Yale (11/19), the Black Bears traded results throughout the rest of November with wins over Northeastern (11/21) and Niagara (11/26) and losses to Kansas (11/25) and #23 Gonzaga (11/28).
• In December, Maine found just one win over Army (12/11). Seeing top schools, the team fell to Princeton (12/2), URI (12/4), Fordham (12/8), and Harvard (12/18). 
• With three conference games left, the Black Bears have finished the regular season series against Bryant, UMass Lowell, NJIT, UMBC, and Vermont. 
• Sweeping the series against Bryant and UMass Lowell, Maine has split the series against UMBC and NJIT and fallen to Vermont twice.
• Closing the regular season with Binghamton, UAlbany, and New Hampshire, the Black Bears look to sweep each of the series after winning the first game.
• Adrianna Smith leads the team with 17.3 points per game, 9.3 rebounds per game, 88 assists, and 31 steals.
• Abbe Laurence owns a team-high 16 blocks.
• Anne Simon follows with 10.7 points per game while Caroline Bornemann holds 5.9 rebounds per game and 22 steals.
• As a team, the Black Bears are hitting 41.4% from the field, 33.5% outside the arc, and 70.9% from the free-throw line. Maine is averaging 58.6 points per game and 33.5 rebounds per game with 13.2 assists per game, 5.8 steals per game, and 2.8 blocks per game.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE BLACK BEARS

• Maine leads the all-time series, 31-20.
• The Great Danes broke an 11-game win streak from the Black Bears with the America East Championship win in 2022.
• Current head coach, Colleen Mullen, owns a 1-11 record against Maine. Her first win came during the title game in 2022.
• During Mullen's time, the Black Bears have seen two semifinal wins - 2019 and 2021.
• Throughout the 2021-22 regular season, Maine swept UAlbany with wins on February 9 and February 23.
• Earlier this season, the Great Danes fell at The Pit in a close matchup, 50-49, on the road. 

 
AROUND THE AMERICA EAST

• UAlbany and Vermont are in a race to finish first in the conference. The Great Danes currently hold one more win with one more game (12-2) while the Catamounts follow (11-2).
• Maine is currently in third (9-4) but UMBC is close behind with a 9-5 record.
• NJIT owns an 8-5 record for fifth place.
• Binghamton sits just below an even 500 with a 6-7 record.
• New Hampshire and Bryant currently hold the final postseason slot. A game behind, the Wildcats (2-11) hold the slight lead with one less loss than the Bulldogs (2-12).
• UMass Lowell is still in the hunt for a tournament-qualifying finish (1-12).

 
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEK

• Saturday
  • NJIT at Vermont, 2 pm
  • UMass Lowell at Binghamton, 2 pm
  • New Hampshire at UMBC, 2 pm
  • Maine at UAlbany, 7 pm
• Wednesday
  • UMBC at UMass Lowell, 7 pm
  • Vermont at Binghamton, 7 pm
  • New Hampshire at Maine, 7 pm
  • NJIT at Bryant, 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 for their final game of the regular season - NJIT (Feb. 25).

 
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