SCORE: Siena 70, UAlbany 65
 
LOCATION: UHY Center - Loudonville, N.Y.
 
RECORDS: UAlbany 7-1, 0-0 America East | Siena 3-4, 0-0 MAAC
 
SHORT STORY: The Great Danes battled for 40 minutes but it was the host, Siena, who earned the Albany Cup victory, Saturday afternoon.
 
COACH COLLEEN MULLEN: "Unfortunately, it wasn't our day today. Siena played a great game and played extremely hard. We will learn and grow from this game."
 
KEY STATS

• Graduate student Kayla Cooper led with 18 points and eight rebounds despite being limited to 28 minutes due to foul trouble.
• Three-point shooters Lilly Phillips and Kaci Donovan followed with 16 points each.
• Freshman Martina Borrellas added five rebounds.
• Graduate student Jessica Tomasetti tallied a team-high three steals while her classmate Donovan led with four assists.
• As a team, the Great Danes shot over 50% from the field (.511, 24-47).
• Siena's offensive rebounds proved to be game-changing. With 19 offensive rebounds, the Saints earned 21 second-chance points.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Great Danes jumped to a 12-5 lead with 5:30 on the clock after field goals from Kayla Cooper, Lilly Phillips, and Kaci Donovan.
• Siena answered with an eight-point scoring run in two minutes and held on for a first-quarter lead, 19-16.
• An early 11-2 scoring run in the second quarter gave the Saints their first 10-point lead with 4:34 on the clock.
• UAlbany attempted to come back with points from Phillips and Donovan but Siena worked back to an 11-point advantage, 36-25, with two minutes remaining in the first half.
• Donovan and Jessica Tomasetti combined for two field goals in the final 30 seconds to make it 36-29 at halftime.
• The third quarter proved to be the only quarter in which the Great Danes scored more points than the Saints.
• The two teams went back and forth during the first five minutes of the quarter but a 12-2 scoring run from UAlbany tied the game at 48 with just six seconds remaining in the quarter.
• Two Siena free throws made it a two-point game headed into the final quarter.
• The Saints did not back down and quickly extended their lead to eight points to start the fourth.
• As the two teams traded points throughout much of the quarter, the Great Danes gradually closed Siena's lead. With 59 seconds remaining in the game, senior Meghan Huerter hit a three-pointer to make it 65-63.
• Thirty seconds later, a three-pointer from the Saints seemed to seal the deal with a 68-63 score but that did not stop UAlbany.
• Two consecutive shooting fouls on Donovan gave the Great Danes four free throw attempts but the graduate student only made two for a 68-65 score.
• Siena closed out the contest with two made free throws for the final decision, 70-65.

 
NEXT: The Great Danes will close their three-game road streak at Boston University on Tuesday (Dec. 10).
 
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