ALBANY, N.Y. - The University at Albany women's basketball team is set to close the 2023 America East Championship Tournament on the road.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
#2 UAlbany at #1 Vermont
DATE: Friday, March 10
TIME: 5:00 PM
SITE: Patrick Gym - Burlington, Vermont
RECORDS: UAlbany 22-10, 14-2 America East | Vermont 24-6, 14-2 America East
SERIES RECORD: 27-22, UAlbany leads
STATS: UVMAthletics.com
TICKETS: Ticket Return
STREAM: ESPNU/ESPN+
INT'L STREAM: Not Available
 
AMERICA EAST TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
 
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 a victory (11/30) before falling in a close matchup against 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 made a statement in their first America East game, beating Vermont (12/29) at home by 14 points, sparking an eight-game win streak, which included a 25-point win over New Hampshire (1/1) on the road. 
• 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, and closed the longest win streak since the 2015-16 season.
• Returning home, UAlbany tallied a victory over UMass Lowell (2/1) before falling on the road to Vermont (2/4) in a nail-biter. 
• The Great Danes finished out conference play, 5-0, including a thrilling overtime win over Binghamton (2/11) - the first overtime game since a win over Columbia in November 2019.  
• In the regular season, UAlbany picked up nine double-digit wins and didn't lose a single series. 
• Finishing the season with a record of 14-2, the Great Danes shared the America East Regular-Season Champion title with Vermont and entered the tournament as the two-seed. 
• After defeating #7 UMass Lowell, 59-51, in the America East Quarterfinal round, and #3 Maine, 72-64, UAlbany is set for the AE Championships at #1 Vermont. 

• Shooting 50% from the field on 253 attempts, junior Kayla Cooper leads the team in field goal percentage, while senior Helene Haegerstrand and graduate student Ellen Hahne both shoot 39% from three.
• Three Great Danes have averaged over 10-points this season: Cooper (15.2), Haegerstrand (14.6), and Hahne (11.7). 
• On the defensive end, Cooper averages 8.2 rebounds per game to lead the team.
• Hahne owns team-highs with 72 assists and 34 steals while Haegerstrand leads with 23 blocks.
• As a team, UAlbany is hitting 42.6% from the field, 33.9% outside the arc, and 72.7% from the free-throw line. The Great Danes are averaging 59.1 points per game and 34.8 rebounds per game with 11.8 assists per game, 5.9 steals per game, and 2.8 blocks per game.

 
RETURNING TO THE BIG GAME 

• Colleen Mullen and her Great Danes reached the 2022 America East Championship for the first time since 2017. 
• Leading with a team-high 20 points, Morgan Haney helped push the Great Danes to a 56-47 win over Maine. 
• The championship was the program's first since the departure of former head coach Joanna Bernabie-McNamee. 
• All eight players that saw time in the 2021-22 championship game have returned to UAlbany for the 2022-23 season. 

 
ABOUT VERMONT

• The Catamounts are 24-6 on the season with a 14-2 conference record.
• After opening the season with a victory over Saint Michael's (11/4), the Catamounts fell to #11 Indiana (11/8) and Miami (Ohio) (11/11). 
• Hosting five-straight home games, Vermont earned wins over AIC (11/15), Army (11/21), Stonehill (11/26), and Siena (11/27) with just one loss to Delaware (11/18).
• The Catamounts added five games in December. Working for just one loss against Duquesne (12/10), Vermont notched victories against Dartmouth (12/1), Marist (12/4), Saint Francis (12/8), and Holy Cross (12/20).
• After starting America East play with losses to UAlbany (12/29) and UMBC (1/1), Vermont has won its last 14 contests to sweep each series in the league outside of the Great Danes and the Retrievers.
• Notching a share of the America East Regular-Season Champion Title, the Catamounts earned the one seed in the championship tournament.
• After hosting #8 Bryant and #4 UMBC, Vermont is set to host the 2023 America East Championship.
• Emma Utterback leads the team with 13.9 points per game, 129 assists, and 36 steals.
• Anna Olson leads active players with a .523 field goal percentage while Maria Myklebust follows (51.1%).
• Olson leads the Vermont defense with 6.4 rebounds per game. 
• Delaney Richason owns a team-high 31 blocks. Olson follows closely with 28.
• As a team, the Catamounts are hitting 43.8% from the field, 37.3% outside the arc, and 68.4% from the free-throw line. Vermont is averaging 62.4 points per game and 35.1 rebounds per game with 14.3 assists per game, 6.0 steals per game, and 3.5 blocks per game.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE CATAMOUNTS

• UAlbany leads the all-time series, 27-22.
• Current head coach, Colleen Mullen, owns a 5-4 record against Vermont during her time with the Great Danes. Each win has been at home and each loss has been on the road.
• Vermont and UAlbany met three times throughout the 2021-22 season.
• The regular season was split, 1-1, with the two games happening in a three-day span. Each team won its home game. 
• On February 12, 2022, the Great Danes hosted the Catamounts for a 54-52 win. On February 14, Vermont defeated UAlbany, 63-55, in Burlington.
• The teams met in the postseason for the semifinal round at SEFCU Arena. After a close first quarter, the Great Danes took a gradual lead throughout the final three quarters for a 67-54 victory on March 8, 2022.
• Earlier this season, UAlbany hosted Vermont to start conference play. The Great Danes played the Catamounts to a double-digit victory, 60-46. Vermont earned their home win, 53-49.

 
AROUND THE AMERICA EAST

• UAlbany and Vermont finished the regular season 14-2 and shared the America East Regular-Season Championship title. Both teams picked up wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals and will face each other in the championship game. Vermont, winning the tiebreaker, will host the championship game. 
• Maine, with a record of 11-5, was third in the AE and picked up a first-round win over #6 Binghamton before falling to #2 UAlbany in the semifinal. 
• In fourth, UMBC beat #5 NJIT but came up short against #1 Vermont in the semifinal.
• #7 UMass Lowell, #8 Bryant, #6 Binghamton, and #5 NJIT suffered quarter-final losses. 
• New Hampshire did not qualify for the tournament.

 
AMERICA EAST TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

• Wednesday (Quarterfinals)
  • #1 Vermont 56, #8 Bryant 49
  • #2 UAlbany 59, #7 UMass Lowell 51
  • #3 Maine 64, #6 Binghamton 54
  • #4 UMBC 82, #5 NJIT 71
• Sunday (Semifinals)
  • #1 Vermont 75, #4 UMBC 63
  • #2 UAlbany 72, #3 Maine 64
• Friday (Championship)
  • #2 UAlbany at #1 Vermont, 5 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

• Should the Great Danes win, they will advance to the NCAA Tournament.

 
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