ALBANY, N.Y. - The UAlbany women's basketball team is ready to host Binghamton for their annual Commitment to Education game.
GAME INFORMATION
Binghamton at UAlbany
DATE: Thursday, February 8
TIME: 11:00 AM
SITE: Broadview Center - Albany, N.Y.
RECORDS: UAlbany 19-3, 8-1 America East | Binghamton 9-13, 4-5 America East
SERIES RECORDS: 49-27, UAlbany leads
STATS:
UAlbanySports.com
STREAM:
ESPN+
INT'L STREAM:
AE.TV
All UAlbany students are welcome to enjoy all UAlbany Athletics events for FREE with their student ID. Come out and support the Great Danes with the scan of a card - tactile or mobile.
UAlbany game notes (PDF) |
Binghamton game notes (PDF)
*records as of February 5
A WEEK IN REVIEW
- Last week, the Great Danes had a split weekend hosting Vermont and visiting UMBC.
- UAlbany fell in a hard-fought contest to the Catamounts, 64-59, for their first loss since November.
- Freshman Deja Evans led with 21 points. Senior Kayla Cooper trailed with 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
- Two days later, the Great Danes bounced back to defeat the Retrievers, 69-55.
- Three Great Danes tallied double-digit points - Cooper (18), junior Meghan Huerter (15), and junior Lilly Phillips (12).
- Leading on both sides of the court, Cooper notched a double-double performance by tying her season-high with 14 rebounds.
GREAT DANE REWIND
- Nearly a month after entering the CollegeInsider Mid-Major Top-25 Poll, UAlbany has remained in the top 25 for five weekly polls with three weeks in the top 20.
- Working on defense throughout the entire season, the Great Danes are second in the nation while holding their opponents to an average of 51.5 points per game.
- Seven games into conference play, the Great Danes hold a 19-3 record with eight America East wins.
- Going 4-2 in November, UAlbany found victories over Merrimack (11.6), Sarah Lawrence (11.13), St. Bonaventure (11.16), and Cornell (11.22) with losses to Fordham (11.10) and Stanford (11.26).
- Meeting a goal to go undefeated in December, the Great Danes added wins over Siena (12.2), CCSU (12.6), Marist (12.9), Dartmouth (12.12), Stonehill (12.16), UMass (12.20) and Navy (12.30).
- In the first month of conference action, January, UAlbany continued to go unbeaten with games against Bryant (1.4), NJIT (1.6), Binghamton (1.13), UMass Lowell (1.18), Bryant (1.20), Maine (1.25), and New Hampshire (1.27).
- Most recently, the Great Danes lost their first conference contest to Vermont (2.1) before bouncing back to defeat UMBC (2.3).
- Kayla Cooper leads the Great Danes with 16.1 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game. The guard also owns a team-high 32 steals.
- Following Cooper with 7.2 rebounds per game, Deja Evans totals a team-high 29 blocks.
- Graduate student Sarah Karpell is the team's playmaker with 74 assists.
- Two shooters hold three-point field goal percentages over 40% - Meghan Huerter (49.0%) and Lilly Phillips (44.2%).
HAPPY AT HOME
- Returning home to continue the second half of the 2023-24 conference season, the Great Danes have gone 10-1 at home.
- After a record-breaking home opener against Sarah Lawrence at the "home away from home" Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium, UAlbany defeated its first 10 home opponents during the 2023-24 season.
- The Great Danes have lost just four games at home since the start of the 2021-22 season.
- Going undefeated at home in non-conference play, Maine took the second-to-last regular-season home game in February 2022.
- Flipping the book for the 2022-23 season, UAlbany fell to Colgate and Cornell at "home" (Saint Rose and HVCC, respectively) while Broadview Center was undergoing its transformational overhaul.
- The Great Danes fell in their first home loss this season to Vermont on February 1.
AUTOMATIC SHOOTING
- UAlbany is ranked fourth in the country in three-point field goal percentage (.401).
- The Great Danes lead the America East in nearly all shooting categories: scoring offense (66.1), scoring defense (51.5), scoring margin (14.7), field goal percentage (.447), field goal defense (.366), three-point field goal percentage (.401), three-point field goal defense (.265), and free-throw percentage (.743).
- Two Great Danes are ranked nationally with their respective stats:
- UAlbany has leaders across all the shooting categories:
- Kayla Cooper
- 1st - .789 FT%
- 2nd - .545 FG%
- 4th - 16.1 points per game
- Meghan Huerter
- 1st - .490 3PT FG%
- 3rd - 2.3 3PT FG per game
- 19th - 8.5 points per game
- Deja Evans
- 4th - .703 FT%
- 15th - 9.8 points per game
- Lilly Phillips
- T6th - 1.7 3PT FG per game
- T19th - 8.5 points per game
- Helene Haegerstrand
- T10th - 1.3 3PT FG per game
- 16th - 9.6 points per game
MILESTONE WATCH
PLAY AS A TEAM, WIN AS A TEAM
- The Great Danes have utilized great teamwork to fuel their success so far this season.
- In 22 contests, the Great Danes have had six different players lead the team in points.
- As a team, UAlbany ranks first in the conference in 11 stats:
- 66.1 points per game
- 51.5 points allowed per game
- 14.7 scoring margin
- .447 team FG percentage
- .366 opponent FG percentage
- .401 3PT FG percentage
- .265 opponent 3PT FG percentage
- .743 free-throw percentage
- 28.4 opponent rebounds per game
- 7.4 rebounding margin
BETTER BACK-UP
- UAlbany's bench has scored 16.2 points per game this season (357 total).
- Meghan Huerter leads the way, shooting .490 for three (first on the team) with a top-five 8.5 points per game and 3.2 rebounds per game.
- Fellow junior Abby Ray is third on the team in offensive rebounds (33) and is tied for fourth in assists with 30.
- Recording 13 steals, sixth on the team, and four blocks, tied for fourth on the team, sophomore Gabriela Falcão has had an impact on defense.
UNDEFEATED DECEMBER
- The Great Danes powered through December without one loss.
- Seeing seven opponents, five at home, UAlbany was able to defeat each one by at least 10 points.
- Working as a team in each game, the Great Danes worked for several accomplishments throughout December.
- Four student-athletes earned double-digit points in two different contests:
- Four of the remaining five games had three student-athletes with double-digit points:
- CCSU (Dec. 6) - Cooper (14), Haegerstrand (14), Huerter (10)
- Dartmouth (Dec. 12) - Huerter (20), Haegerstrand (18), Cooper (16)
- Stonehill (Dec. 16) - Cooper (16), Evans (13), Huerter (11)
- Navy (Dec. 30) - Evans (26), Cooper (23), Haegerstrand (12)
- Three Great Danes tallied 20-point performances - Cooper (23 vs Marist (12.9) & 23 vs Navy) & Evans (26 vs Navy)
- Cooper has compiled three double-doubles (14 points & 12 rebounds against CCSU; 23 points & 13 rebounds against Marist; 16 points & 11 rebounds against Stonehill) while Evans added one in the final game of 2023 (26 points & 17 rebounds).
- Consistently improving from outside the arc, three Great Danes have shot 50% or above on multiple occasions:
- Meghan Huerter (5) - .500 (2-4) vs Siena, .750 (6-8) vs Dartmouth, .500 (3-6) vs Stonehill, .714 (5-7) at UMass, .500 (2-4) vs Navy
- Lilly Phillips (3) - .667 (2-3) at CCSU, .600 (3-5) vs Stonehill, .667 (4-6) at UMass
- Helene Haegerstrand (3) - .600 (3-5) vs Marist, .500 (4-8) vs Dartmouth, .500 (2-4) vs Navy
- As a team, UAlbany has shot at least 50% in four contests (Siena, Dartmouth, Stonehill, and UMass) with three games shooting 50% or higher from outside the arc (Dartmouth, Stonehill, and UMass).
ABOUT BINGHAMTON
- The Bearcats have gone 9-13 with a 4-5 conference record.
- Splitting their first four contests, Binghamton saw wins over Roberts Wesleyan (11.3) and Bloomsburg (11.6) before falling to Siena (11.9) and Loyola (MD) (11.12).
- Following a win over St. Bonaventure (11.18), the Bearcats experienced losses to Navy (11.21), Appalachian State (11.24), Furman (11.25), Cornell (11.29), Pitt (12.3), and Canisius (12.8).
- To close out non-conference play, Binghamton tallied three consecutive wins over Coppin State (12.17), Army (12.20), and Chestnut Hill (12.30).
- Opening conference play with losses to UMBC (1.4), Bryant (1.11), UAlbany (1.13), and Vermont (1.18). The Wildcats rebounded with victories over UMass Lowell (1.20) and New Hampshire (1.25).
- After falling to Maine (1.27), Binghamton has been undefeated in February with wins over NJIT (2.1) and Vermont (2.3).
- Denai Bowman and Ella Wanzer lead the team with 11.5 and 11.1 points per game, respectively.
- Bowman also leads 14 blocks.
- Jadyn Weltz owns team-highs with 5.2 rebounds per game, 99 assists, and 30 steals.
SERIES AGAINST THE BEARCATS
- UAlbany leads the all-time series, 49-27.
- Current head coach, Colleen Mullen, has led the Great Danes to nine wins over the Bearcats.
- UAlbany and Binghamton have already squared off once this season with the Great Danes coming out on top, 60-58, on January 13.
- Kayla Cooper recorded a double-double in the win, scoring 23 points and tallying 14 rebounds.
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 third consecutive year.
- Coaches Colleen Mullen and Dwayne Killings, along with select student-athletes, will join ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team's Dan Bahl 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 Kills, 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 and Maine sit at the top of the table with an 8-1 record.
- Vermont trails closely behind with seven wins in nine contests.
- Sitting just under .500, Binghamton and UMBC both hold a 4-5 league record.
- In a three-way tie, Bryant, New Hampshire, and UMass Lowell each own a 3-6 record.
- NJIT rounds out the conference still looking for their first conference win.
AMERICA EAST CONTESTS THIS WEEK
- Thursday
- Binghamton at UAlbany, 11 am
- UMBC at UMass Lowell, 6 pm
- NJIT at Vermont, 6 pm
- Bryant at New Hampshire, 6 pm
- Saturday
- NJIT at UMass Lowell, 1 pm
- UMBC at Vermont, 2 pm
- Binghamton at Bryant, 2 pm
- New Hampshire at Maine, 2 pm
UP NEXT: The Great Danes will return to their two-game schedule with a road game at NJIT (2.15) before hosting UMBC on Saturday (2.17).
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
