SCORE: UAlbany 54, Cornell 47
 
LOCATION: Broadview Center - Albany, N.Y.
 
RECORDS: UAlbany 5-0, 0-0 America East | Cornell 2-5, 0-0 Ivy League
 
SHORT STORY: A close contest from the beginning, the Great Danes battled until the final minute to secure their fifth consecutive victory, Saturday night.
 
COACH COLLEEN MULLEN: "Tonight was a tough, gritty win. Cornell challenged us defensively and controlled the tempo for much of the game. After a slow start, I am proud of how the team responded in the second half. We had some terrific individual performances and Kayla [Cooper] had another impressive game. We will learn a lot from this hard-fought win,"
 
KEY STATS

• For the fourth consecutive game, graduate student Kayla Cooper eclipsed 20 points. Going 9-12 from the field, the forward led with 24 points and seven rebounds.
• Graduate student Kaci Donovan hit 50% of her shots to earn 13 points.
• Graduate student Lilly Phillip tallied a team-high three assists.
• Junior Gabriela Falcão blocked three shots to lead the team.
• Donovan and senior Meghan Huerter each totaled three field goals from behind the arc. Huerter scored all three in the fourth quarter.
• Cooper tallied her 50th career block during the contest.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Cornell began the game with a three-pointer on the first possession of the game.
• Back-and-forth action ensued and it was the Big Red taking the first multi-possession lead, 9-4, with six minutes left in the quarter.
• Kaci Donovan followed with two baskets on her way to scoring seven of the Great Danes' nine points in the first quarter.
• Down 10-9 to start the second, UAlbany took a 13-12 lead after holding the Big Red to just one field goal in the first half of the quarter.
• Cornell added four points but was held to just one field goal throughout the second quarter.
• Donovan ended the second with a three-pointer to help her team lead 20-16 at halftime.
• The Great Danes and the Big Red traded baskets coming out of the break - layup for layup, three-pointer for three-pointer.
• For about two minutes, beginning with 7:25 on the third-quarter clock, Cornell scored four unanswered jumpers for eight points to take a 29-25 lead.
• UAlbany followed with a 9-2 scoring run, without allowing a Big Red field goal, to earn the advantage back. 
• Kayla Cooper ended the quarter with her 50th career block on a Cornell three-point shot.
• The Big Red opened the final quarter with a three-pointer to tie the score at 34.
• Differing from the defensive play of the first three quarters, the two teams began a shootout to attempt to pull ahead with the lead.
• In 90 seconds, Meghan Huerter made the difference with three baskets from downtown to give the Great Danes a 47-41 lead and force a Cornell timeout.
• Cornell answered with a 6-2 scoring run in 90 seconds to make it a two-point game with two minutes remaining.
• Cooper downed five free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the UAlbany victory, 54-47.

 
NEXT: The Great Danes will continue at home against local Division III opponent, RPI, on Wednesday, November 27.
 
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