ALBANY, N.Y. - The UAlbany women's basketball team opens the 2024-25 season against Rhode Island.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
Rhode Island at UAlbany
DATE: Friday, November 8
TIME: 7:00 PM
SITE: Broadview Center - Albany, N.Y.
RECORDS: UAlbany 0-0, 0-0 America East | Rhode Island 1-0, 0-0 Atlantic 10
SERIES RECORDS: 2-1, UAlbany leads
STATS: UAlbanySports.com
STREAM: ESPN+
INT'L STREAM: AE.TV
TICKETS: UAlbanySports.com
  
*records as of November 7
 
GREAT DANE REWIND

• Advancing to the WNIT for the second consecutive season in 2023-24, the Great Danes finished with a 25-7 record. 
• Last season was the first head coach Colleen Mullen tallied 25 wins in one season as a head coach. Just the third UAlbany women's basketball coach to do so, 2023-24 was the fifth season in program history the Great Danes have tallied 25 wins. Mari Warner coached her team to 26 wins in 1985-86 and Katie Abrahamson-Henderson did it three times (27 wins in 2012-13, 28 wins in 2013-14, and 28 wins in 2015-16).
• After hosting NJIT in the America East quarterfinals, the Great Danes fell in a four-point decision to Vermont at home in the semifinals. 
• UAlbany closed the season in the First Round of the WNIT at Colgate.
• The Great Danes return with five 2023-24 student-athletes - Kayla Cooper, Lilly Phillips, Abby Ray, Meghan Huerter, and Gabriela Falcão.
• This offseason, UAlbany added nine student-athletes - five freshmen and four transfers.

 
MILESTONE WATCH

• Head coach Colleen Mullen is one win away from 100 career wins.
• Graduate student Kayla Cooper is just two blocks away from 50 career blocks.
• Three Great Danes are nearing a milestone in assists - Jessica Tomasetti is working towards 200 career assists (four more) while Laycee Drake (16) and Kaci Donovan (15) are closing in on 100 career assists.
• Tomasetti's next three-pointer will be her 100th career three-point field goal made.
• Donovan is 112 points away from joining the 1000-point club.

 
IN THE RECORD BOOK

• Following the 2023-24 season, Kayla Cooper is ranked in program history in her respective career stats.
  • 6th - 1335 points
  • 7th - 12.6 points per game
  • 6th - 750 rebounds
  • T8th - 7.1 rebounds per game
• In 2023-24, two Great Danes put up single-season numbers good enough to be ranked in program history.
  • Kayla Cooper
    • 7th - 509 points
    • 10th - 15.9 points per game
    • 8th - .528 field goal percentage
  • Meghan Huerter
    • 2nd - .459 three-point field goal percentage

 
WHAT'S UP, PRESEASON

• With 56 total points, including three first-place votes, the UAlbany women's basketball team was picked to finish second in the America East preseason poll.
• The Great Danes trailed Maine, who finished with 60 points, including five first-place votes.
• Returning stat leader Kayla Cooper was named to the preseason All-Conference Team after leading UAlbany on offense (15.9 points per game and a .530 field goal percentage) and on defense (7.2 rebounds per game and 46 steals).

 
ABOUT RHODE ISLAND

• The Rams opened the season with a 23-point victory over Stonehill.
• Harsimran Kaur led the team with 19 points and four blocks while adding 11 rebounds. 
• Hawa Komara earned a second double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
• Sophie Phillips totaled 15 points while Ines Debroise tallied a team-high seven assists.
• Both Kaur and Komara notched six offensive rebounds in the victory.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE RAMS

• The Great Danes lead the series, 2-1.
• UAlbany and Rhode Island last met in 2015 with a 67-58 UAlbany win.

 
PAST CONNECTIONS

• Current Ram senior Sophie Phillips and current Great Dane senior Lilly Phillips are twins hailing from Greenwich, N.Y.
• Growing up in a town just an hour away, this will be the first time ever the Phillips' sisters will play against each other.

 
DRIVE THE LANE WITH UALBANY HOOPS

• UAlbany will continue its partnership with ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team and City Line Bar & Grill for the fourth consecutive year.
• Coaches Colleen Mullen and Dwayne Killings, along with select student-athletes, will join ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team's Dan Bahl and Michael Johnson Jr. 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 to City Line Bar & Grill to join Coach Mullen, Coach Killings, 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.

 
AMERICA EAST STANDINGS

• UAlbany is the only team left in the conference to begin its season.
• All other teams, except UMBC and UMass Lowell, opened 2024-25 with a win.
• The Retrievers earned their first win in their second contest.

 
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEKEND

• Thursday
  • New Hampshire at UMass, 6 pm
  • Akron at Binghamton, 7:30 pm
• Friday
  • Bridgewater St at Bryant, 5 pm
  • Hofstra at NJIT, 6 pm
  • Rhode Island at UAlbany, 7 pm
  • Vermont at Minnesota, 8 pm
• Saturday
  • Holy Cross at UMass Lowell, 1 pm
  • Binghamton at St. Bonaventure, 2 pm
• Sunday
  • Penn at Maine, 11:30 am
  • NJIT at Rutgers, 2 pm
  • UMBC at Loyola Maryland, 5 pm

 
UP NEXT: The Great Danes will head on the road to face Dartmouth (Nov. 13) before returning home to host Sacred Heart (Nov. 16) for their annual Purple Out contest.

Keep up with all of the latest news, highlights, and insights on UAlbany women's basketball by following the team on X, Instagram, and Facebook.