ALBANY, N.Y. - The UAlbany women's basketball team is set to face off against Saint Joseph's in the First Round of the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT).
GAME INFORMATION
UAlbany at Saint Joseph's
DATE: Thursday, March 20
TIME: 7:00 PM
SITE: Michael J. Hagan '85 Arena - Philadelphia, Pa.
RECORDS: UAlbany 26-6, 14-2 America East | Saint Joseph's 23-9, 12-6 Atlantic 10
SERIES RECORD: 0-0, first meeting
STATS:
SJUHawks.com
STREAM:
ESPN+
INT'L STREAM:
Atlantic10.com
TICKETS:
SJUHawks.com
*records as of March 19
2024 POSTSEASON AWARDS
GREAT DANE REWIND
- UAlbany is 26-6 overall with a 14-2 conference record for the America East Regular Season title.
- The Great Danes ended the non-conference season with just three losses while securing the best 10-game start in Division I history (9-1).
- During the 2024 portion of the schedule, UAlbany competed against three Power-Four teams. The team beat Syracuse (11.20) and fell to Wisconsin (12.20) and #6 LSU (12.29).
- The Great Danes went undefeated throughout the month of November.
- UAlbany kicked off the conference season with six consecutive wins. UMBC broke the win streak with an upset on the road (1.23).
- Since the loss in Maryland, the Great Danes completed regular-season sweeps over Bryant, Binghamton, UMass Lowell, Maine, New Hampshire, and NJIT and split the regular-season series against Vermont and UMBC.
- UAlbany ended two playoff runs in the Broadview Center - #8 New Hampshire and #4 Maine - before falling the America East Championship to two-seed Vermont.
- Kayla Cooper leads with 17.3 points per game, 6.8 rebounds per game, 109 assists, and 50 steals.
- Kaci Donovan follows as the team's second-leading scorer averaging 11.4 points per game.
- Jessica Tomasetti ranks second in rebounds with 4.5 per game, in assists (70), and in steals (34).
- Junior Gabriela Falcão owns a team-high 31 blocks.
- As a team, the Great Danes are shooting .458 from the field, with a 33.4% accuracy from downtown, and .734 from the line.
MILESTONE WATCH
- In the championship game against Vermont, there were two career milestones hit for the Great Danes. Kayla Cooper surpassed 750 field goals made and Kaci Donovan hit 1,250 points in their careers.
- Senior Laycee Drake is three assists away from making it 100 in her career.
- Junior Gabriela Falcão needs four more blocks to hit 50 career blocks.
- Kaci Donovan is also six three-pointers away from 200 in her career.
GREATNESS RANKED
- The team has been dominant defensively and ranks ninth in the nation in scoring defense by allowing just 53.2 points per game while also holding opponents to 26.6% from three, the ninth-best mark in the country.
- Their success is reflected in their .812 winning percentage, tied for 28th nationally, while their efficiency on offense has led to a 45.8% field goal percentage, ranked 32nd in the country.
MULLEN MAGIC
- Head coach Colleen Mullen won her 20th game of the season against UMass Lowell on February 13.
- The win marked Mullen's fourth consecutive season with 20+ wins.
- She is the second UAlbany women's basketball coach to achieve four 20-win seasons, both consecutive and overall. Former head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson was the first to do this for the women's basketball program during the 2014-15 season.
- Throughout the history of both UAlbany basketball programs, Mullen is just the third coach to achieve four consecutive 20+-win seasons. UAlbany men's basketball's Will Brown was the second UAlbany basketball coach to achieve four consecutive 20-win seasons in 2017-18.
- The legendary Doc Sauers was the first UAlbany basketball coach to achieve four 20-win seasons. He is the only UAlbany basketball coach to achieve this accomplishment without doing so in consecutive seasons.
- Brown earned his fourth 20-win season in 2014-15. The 2014-15 season would prove to be the first of his four-year 20-win season streak.
- Overall, Mullen's arrival at four 20-win seasons is the second fastest in UAlbany basketball history. Taking seven seasons to accomplish this, she is behind only Abrahamson-Henderson who did it in five seasons.
HISTORY MADE
- The Great Danes finished a spectacular performance in the non-conference season, fueled by the leadership of head coach Colleen Mullen.
- After defeating St. Bonaventure on Saturday (12.14), UAlbany sealed the best 10-game start in Division I program history with just one loss.
- Previously, the best 10-game start in Division I program history was 8-2, including one season under head coach Colleen Mullen. Five teams earned the 8-2 start: 2012-13, 2013-14, 2015-16, 2017-18, 2023-24.
HAPPY AT HOME
- The Great Danes have paved the way for a historic season with an incredible record at home as they remained undefeated through the 2024-25 season in the Broadview Center until the very last game.
- UAlbany has lost just six 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 of the 2021-22 season.
- 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 only twice during the 2023-24 season at home; both times being against Vermont.
- The Catamounts remained the only team to beat UAlbany in Broadview Center when they won the conference title game on March 14, 2025.
ABOUT SAINT JOSEPH'S
- The Hawks finished the non-conference season with nine wins and two losses.
- Seeing three overlapping opponents, both Saint Joseph's and UAlbany competed against Syracuse, Maine, and Rhode Island. The Hawks secured a 14-point victory while the Great Danes won by three points. The Great Danes swept Maine with the Hawks earning a double-digit win over the Black Bears. UAlbany opened the season with a win over Rhode Island whereas Saint Joe's split two results with the Rams - a regular-season loss and a postseason win.
- Three of SJU's wins came in the first two weeks of competition – Goldey-Beacom (11.6), Syracuse (11.10), and Penn (11.15).
- Beginning with their trip out west, the Hawks defeated Southern Utah (11.20) before falling to Utah in overtime (11.22) and finishing non-conference play with a win over Howard (12.20).
- After their first game of 2025, the Hawks won seven consecutive contests, including a regular-season sweep over La Salle before a loss at Richmond (2.13) split their series.
- The Hawks went on to sweep VCU, Massachusetts, George Mason, and Loyola Chicago but only found one win against Duquesne, Rhode Island, and Richmond.
- Laura Ziegler is averaging 17.5 points per game to lead the Hawks' scoring efforts.
- Ziegler also fuels the defensive efforts with two team-highs – 10.4 rebounds per game and 1.0 steals per game.
- Mackenzie Smith leads in assists (4.1), while Olivia Mullins owns the team-high in blocks (22).
- Collectively, the Hawks are shooting 44.1% from the field, 34.6% from three-point range, and maintaining a 76.5% free-throw percentage.
SERIES AGAINST THE HAWKS
- This is the first meeting between the teams.
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.
WBIT SCHEDULE
- First round - Thursday, March 20
- Drake vs. Marquette - 3 p.m.
- Virginia Tech vs. N.C. A&T - 6 p.m.
- James Madison vs. Davidson - 7 p.m.
- Saint Joseph's vs. UAlbany - 7 p.m.
- Villanova vs. Boston College - 7 p.m.
- Seton Hall vs. Quinnipiac - 7 p.m.
- Minnesota vs. Toledo - 7 p.m.
- Florida vs. UNI - 7 p.m.
- Missouri St. vs. Oral Roberts - 7:30 p.m.
- Belmont vs. Middle Tenn. - 7:30 p.m.
- Wyoming vs. Texas Tech - 8:30 p.m.
- Colorado vs. Southeastern La. - 9 p.m.
- Gonzaga vs. UTSA - 9 p.m.
- Arizona vs. Northern Ariz. - 9 p.m.
- UNLV vs. Hawaii - 9:30 p.m.
- Stanford vs. Portland - 10:00 p.m.
- Second round - Sunday, March 23
- Quarterfinals - Thursday, March 27
- Semifinals - 2:30 and 5 p.m. ET Monday, March 31 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis
- Championship - 6 p.m. ET Wednesday, April 2 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis
UP NEXT: With a win against Saint Joseph's, the Great Danes would move onto the second round of the WBIT on Sunday, March 23. The opponent is to be determined.
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