SCORE: UAlbany 79, Merrimack 64
 
LOCATION: Broadview Center - Albany, N.Y.
 
RECORDS: UAlbany 10-1, 0-0 America East | Merrimack 4-5, 0-0 MAAC
 
SHORT STORY: Playing a fast-paced game, UAlbany built an early lead to maintain a double-digit lead for over three quarters in a 79-64 victory over Merrimack, Monday night.
 
COACH COLLEEN MULLEN: "We knew that tonight was going to be a tough, aggressive game. I am proud of the way we responded, stuck to the game plan, and stayed together. This was a terrific team win and the composure we showed down the stretch made the difference."
 
KEY STATS

• Four Great Danes scored in the double-digits.
• Graduate student Kaci Donovan led with 20 points, 18 of which she scored in the first half alone.
• Fellow graduate students Jessica Tomasetti and Kayla Cooper tallied 14 points each while notching 10 of the team's 15 assists (five each).
• Senior Laycee Drake added 10 points. 
• Graduate student Lilly Phillips (9) and freshman Delanie Hill (8) were both on the cusp of the double-digit mark in points. 
• Phillips led the team with four rebounds and one block.
• Junior Gabriela Falcao and freshman Martina Borrellas joined Tomasetti with a team-high two steals each. Overall, the Great Danes totaled 10 steals and forced 18 turnovers for 16 points off turnovers.
• As a team, UAlbany shot over 50% (.509, 28-55), including a 47.8% accuracy from downtown (11-23).

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Allowing just two Merrimack field goals, the Great Danes gained an 18-4 advantage with over two minutes remaining in the first quarter.
• Kaci Donovan ended the first with a three-pointer, her fourth field goal of the quarter, and UAlbany led 23-9 after 10 minutes.
• The Great Danes scored three consecutive baskets, including two three-pointers from Donovan, in the first two minutes of the second.
• After trading points with the Warriors, Merrimack's Madison Roman tallied seven consecutive points to close the scoring gap to 37-23.
• A pull-up jumper from Jessica Tomasetti made it 41 points for UAlbany in the first half as the Great Danes entered halftime with a 16-point lead.
• The third quarter proved to have a slim UAlbany advantage, 20-19.
• The Warriors made a small dent in the scoring gap with four field goals in three and a half minutes but two UAlbany three-pointers within the same time frame made it 47-34 at 6:29.
• UAlbany scored only four field goals, all of which were three-pointers, in over eight minutes of third-quarter action.
• The final 98 seconds of the quarter saw eight points for the Great Danes.
• Merrimack was determined to end the game strong. The Warriors outscored UAlbany, 20-18, in the fourth quarter.
• The Warriors tallied an 11-3 scoring run to close the scoring gap to 11, 66-55.
• UAlbany answered with an eight-point scoring run, including two three-point plays from Kayla Cooper.
• After a three-point step back from Delanie Hill at 2:56, Merrimack held the UAlbany offense to just two free throws in the final three minutes of action.
• Despite a final push from the Warriors, the Great Danes won, 79-64.

 
NEXT: The Great Danes will get ready for two road games throughout the next two weeks - Wisconsin (12/20) and LSU (12/29).
 
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