ALBANY, N.Y. - The UAlbany women's basketball team hosts two home games in three days.
 
Hosting the Toys 4 Tots game on Saturday, December 14, any fan who brings a toy to donate will receive a promo code for a free ticket to any home game in January.
 
Ahead of Monday's game against Merrimack, the UAlbany ticket office is offering a four-pack for $20 with the promo code MERRY. This offer is online only and will not be available on game day (Monday).
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
St. Bonaventure at UAlbany
DATE: Saturday, December 14
TIME: 2:00 PM
SITE: Broadview Center - Albany, N.Y.
RECORDS: UAlbany 8-1, 0-0 America East | St. Bonaventure 3-5, 0-0 Atlantic 10
SERIES RECORD: 4-2, St. Bonaventure leads
STATS: UAlbanySports.com
STREAM: ESPN+
INT'L STREAM: AmericaEast.TV
TICKETS: Ticket Return

UAlbany game notes (PDF) | St. Bonaventure game notes (PDF)

Merrimack at UAlbany
DATE: Monday, December 16
TIME: 6:30 PM
SITE: Broadview Center - Albany, N.Y.
RECORDS: UAlbany 8-1, 0-0 America East | Merrimack 4-3, 0-0 MAAC
SERIES RECORD: 4-4, series tied
STATS: UAlbanySports.com
STREAM: ESPN+
INT'L STREAM: AmericaEast.TV
TICKETS: Ticket Return

All UAlbany students are welcome to enjoy all UAlbany Athletics events for FREE with a valid game ticket. Download the UAlbany Sports app to claim your ticket today.
 
*records as of December 13
 
LAST TIME OUT

• On Tuesday, December 10, the Great Danes came back from a Saturday loss to defeat Boston University on the road, 72-36.
• Graduate student Kaci Donovan led with a career-high 30 points to join the 1000-point club. Fellow classmates Kayla Cooper (15) and Jessica Tomasetti (12) made it three in the double-digits.
• Cooper earned a double-double with 10 rebounds.
• As a team, UAlbany held BU to less than 30% shooting from the field along with a 15% accuracy from outside the arc.

 
GREAT DANE REWIND

• In the team's best start since the 2013-14 season, UAlbany was unbeaten through the first seven games of the season. The team's one loss of the season came in its most recent Saturday contest at Siena (12.7) before recovering to beat Boston U on the road (12/10).
• Going undefeated in November, UAlbany earned a double-digit season-opening victory against Rhode Island (11.8) while adding head coach Colleen Mullen's first win over a Power Four (Five) at Syracuse (11.20). Additional wins in November were against Dartmouth (11.13), Sacred Heart (11.16), Cornell (11.23) and RPI (11.27). 
• The Great Danes opened December with a win at Stonehill on December 1.
• Kayla Cooper leads with 18.9 points per game, 8.9 rebounds per game, and 21 assists.
• Junior Gabriela Falcão owns a team-high 13 blocks.
• Kaci Donovan (12.8) and graduate student Lilly Phillips (10.1) make it three total Great Danes averaging at least 10 ppg.
• Jessica Tomasetti currently leads the team with 15 steals. Cooper follows with 11 throughout the season.
• As a team, the Great Danes are shooting .465 from the field, with a 36.8% accuracy from downtown, and .790 from the line.

 
MILESTONE WATCH

• Kaci Donovan and Kayla Cooper each hit career milestones in points at Boston University. Cooper scored her 1500th career point in the second quarter while Donovan joined the 1000-point club in the third quarter.
• Kaci Donovan (2 away) and senior Laycee Drake (10 away) are closing in on 100 career assists while Kayla Cooper has to earn 12 more assists for 200 in her career and Lilly Phillips is nearing 100 career steals (11 away).
• On a roll in recent games, Phillips is just nine made three-pointers from 100 in her career.

 
MULLEN MAGIC

• The UAlbany Great Danes are off to a spectacular start in the 2024 season, fueled by the leadership of head coach Colleen Mullen. With an 8-1 record, the team has a chance to make history as they continue the non-conference season.
• A win against St. Bonaventure would give the Great Danes a 9-1 start and become the program's best Division I start, previously set in the 2013-14 season.
• The historic 2013-14 season saw UAlbany dominate under Coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson. In the third year of what proved to be a six-year America East Championship win streak, the team went 15-1 in league play and hosted the conference finale.

 
VIDEO GAME NUMBERS

• UAlbany is ranked 28th in the country in three-point field goal percentage (.368) and 39th in the country in field goal percentage (.465).
• The Great Danes lead the America East in nearly all shooting categories: scoring offense (68.9), scoring defense (53.7), scoring margin (15.2), field goal percentage (.465), three-point field goal percentage (.368), and free throw percentage (.790).
• UAlbany has leaders across all the shooting categories in the conference:
  • Kayla Cooper
    • 1st - .629 FG percentage
    • 2nd - 18.9 Points per game
    • 2nd - .864 FT percentage
  • Kaci Donovan
    • 1st - 2.3 3PT FG per game
    • 2nd - .438 3PT FG percentage
  • Meghan Huerter
  • 9th - 1.6 3PT FG per game

 
COOP-SANITY

• The 2024-25 season has been unforgettable for Kayla Cooper, whose explosive performances have ignited "Coop-sanity" across the America East. The five-year Great Dane ranks in the top 100 of the nation in four different stats as well as leading the league in multiple categories.
• Cooper was named AE Player of the Week in the first three weeks of the season - a feat only accomplished once before by the Great Dane's all-time leading scorer, Shereesha Richards. She is the first athlete in the conference to achieve this accomplishment since Blanca Milan (Maine) in 2019.
• National rankings:
  • 12th - .629 FG percentage
  • T24th - 4 double-doubles
  • 36th - 18.9 points per game
  • T70th - 8.9 rebounds per game
• In the America East:
  • 1st - FG%
  • 2nd - Points per game
  • 2nd - Rebounds per game
  • 2nd - .864 FT%
  • 15th - 2.3 assists per game
  • 17th - 1.2 steals per game
  • 19th - 0.4 blocks per game

 
IN THE RECORD BOOK

• Kayla Cooper is ranked in the record book in four different stats.
  • 5th - 1505 points
  • T6th - 13.1 points per game
  • 4th - 830 rebounds
  • T7th - 7.2 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

 
ABOUT ST. BONAVENTURE

• The Bonnies are 3-5 on the season.
• After opening the schedule with a win over Binghamton at home, SBU lost two consecutive road games - Youngstown State (11/12) and Bowling Green (11/16).
• St. Bonaventure beat Canisius to close out a three-game road streak but fell in their next three contests - Colgate (11/23), Loyola (Md.) (11/27), and Buffalo (11/30).
• The Bonnies opened December with a win against Cornell (12/5).
• Dani Haskell leads the team with 15.8 points per game.
• Isabellah Middleton follows with 10.1 points per game and a team-high 15 steals.
• Four Bonnies each have double-digit assists on the season - Zoe Shaw (16), Mackenzie Pettinelli (15), Haskell (14), and Payton Fields (11).
• As a team, SBU is shooting .374 from the field, including 31.8% accuracy from downtown, with a .758 free throw percentage.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE BONNIES

• St. Bonaventure owns the lead with four wins in six contests.
• After four consecutive wins from the Bonnies, the Great Danes tallied their first win in 2017.
• Head coach Colleen Mullen is 1-0 against SBU after a 10-point win, 66-56, in November 2023.

 
ABOUT MERRIMACK

• The Warriors are 4-3 on the season.
• Merrimack opened the season with two losses before going on a four-game winning streak - New Hampshire (11/11), Bucknell (11/16), Yale (11/19), and NJIT (11/23).
• Most recently, the Warriors fell at South Florida on December 5.
• Before facing UAlbany, Merrimack will visit Providence on Saturday (12/14).
• Paloma Garcia leads the team with 12.4 points per game and 15 steals. Thalia Shepard is close behind with 11.9 points per game.
• Madison Roman leads the defense with 6.3 rebounds per game while adding a team-high with 16 assists. Shepard (4.4) and Garcia (4.3) are battling for a close second in rebounds per game.
•  As a team, Merrimack is shooting .356 from the field, including 26.1% accuracy from downtown, with a .755 free throw percentage.

 
SERIES AGAINST THE WARRIORS

• The all-time series is tied, 4-4.
• This will be the second time these two teams face off since Merrimack became a full Division I school. This is the fourth meeting since UAlbany became a Division I school.
• UAlbany opened the season with a 58-55 win at Merrimack in 2023.
• Lilly Phillips and Kayla Cooper totaled 11 points to follow former point guard Sarah Karpell's 17-point performance.

 
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 remains at the top of the league with one loss in nine games. 
• Bryant follows with three losses in 10 contests.
• UMBC is currently on a three-game win streak for a 6-4 record.
• Binghamton (5-4) and New Hampshire (5-5) lost their most recent matchups to hold their respective records.
• Vermont sits just below .500 with a 5-6 record.
• Maine (3-7) is currently on a three-game losing streak.
• UMass Lowell (2-9) and NJIT (2-10) round out the conference with two wins each.

 
AROUND THE AMERICA EAST

• UMBC's Jaden Walker was named the Player of the Week
  • She averaged 14.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in a pair of road victories 
  • Had 14 points and eight boards with two assists as UMBC beat Towson for the first time since 2010.
  • Posted 15 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and two steals in a win at Saint Francis to extend their win streak to three.
• NJIT's Olivia Kulyk was selected as the Rookie of the Week
  • Kulyk had 10 points and five rebounds in a loss to Coppin State.
  • Kulyk has won ROW honors three times and NJIT has captured the award 4 of 5 weeks this season.
• UNH's Eva DeChent leads the league in scoring at 19.5 ppg
  • Ranks 7^th in the nation with 61 FT made, while leading the league in both FT made and FT % (87.1%).
  • DeChent has scored 30+ twice this season in leading UNH to a 5-5 record.

 
*written by the America East; as of December 10
 
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEKEND

• Saturday
  • St. Bonaventure at UAlbany, 2 pm
• Sunday
  • Bryant at Boston College, 12 pm
  • Quinnipiac at Vermont, 2 pm
  • Binghamton at Siena, 2 pm
• Monday
  • Merrimack at UAlbany, 6:30 pm

 
UP NEXT: The Great Danes will head on the road to compete against two Power Four schools - Wisconsin (12/20) and LSU (12/29).
 
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.