SCORE: UAlbany 58, UMBC 56
 
LOCATION: Broadview Center - Albany, N.Y.
 
RECORDS: UAlbany 22-3, 11-1 AE | UMBC 8-17, 4-5 AE
 
SHORT STORY: The Great Danes fought back from an 11-point deficit to defeat the Retrievers, 58-56, on the back of a strong second-half performance by Kayla Cooper, Saturday night. 
 
COACH COLLEEN MULLEN: "I am so proud of the resiliency, commitment, and grit of the players. Our composure and competitiveness down the stretch say so much about the character of this team." 
 
KEY STATS

• Scoring her 1500th career point, graduated student Helene Haegerstrand became the fourth player in program history to reach this milestone. 
• Kayla Cooper led the team with 16 points. Scoring nearly 30% of the team's total points, she notched 14 points in the second half alone. 
• Deja Evans recorded her second career double-double with 10 points and a team-high 13 rebounds.
• Sarah Karpell owned a team-best five assists. 
• UAlbany won the rebound battle, 33-28, with a quarter-high of 13 rebounds in the first quarter alone.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• It was a defensive battle through the opening four minutes as the Great Danes crept out to an early 6-1 advantage. 
• The Retrievers battled back with a 6-2 run to make it a one-possession contest with 3:08 remaining.
• UAlbany closed out the first quarter holding a narrow 13-10 lead.
• Free throws made a big impact throughout the first quarter as 53.8 percent of the Great Danes' 13 points came from the charity stripe.
• After UAlbany held the Retrievers scoreless for nearly three minutes, UMBC looked to control the momentum at the start of the second quarter as they gained their first lead of the contest, 14-13, with 6:38 remaining in the half. 
• Responding with a 7-2 scoring run, the Great Danes retook the lead and the momentum halfway through the quarter. 
• The Retrievers closed out the first half with six consecutive points to own a 27-24 advantage heading into the break. 
• Overall, the first half was a battle for control of the paint. The two sides combined for only one made field goal outside the paint.
• UMBC came out of halftime firing and scored eight unanswered points to own the first double-digit lead, 35-24, of the contest in the opening 1:27 minutes. 
• The Great Danes broke out on a 7-3 run to cut into the Retrievers' lead with 3:29 on the clock. However, UMBC held on to a 48-41 lead heading into the final quarter. 
• Throughout the third quarter, UAlbany went 2-2 from the three and 3-3 from the free-throw line.
• The UAlbany offense entered the final quarter revitalized as they scored 14 unanswered points to regain the lead for the first time since the second quarter. During the six-minute stretch, the Retrievers attempted just four field goals.
• Halfway through the fourth, the Great Danes owned a 52-48 advantage.
• The Retrievers went on a 6-1 scoring run to equalize the score at 56 with 17.7 seconds remaining in the contest. 
• Kayla Cooper maneuvered through the paint to score the go-ahead layup with less than a second left. UAlbany held on to win the back-and-forth contest, 58-56.

 
NEXT: The Great Danes will head on the road to face Vermont on Thursday (Feb. 22).
 
For more information on the University at Albany women's basketball team, follow the squad's official social media accounts shown below.
Twitter - @ualbanywbb
Instagram & Threads - @ualbanywbb
Facebook – facebook.com/UAlbanyWBB