BURLINGTON, Vt. (NEWS10) — Colleen Mullen will have to continue pursuing her first head coaching win in Burlington. In five season’s at the helm of the University at Albany women’s basketball team, Mullen has never won on the road against the University of Vermont. That drought persisted Saturday afternoon as the Catamounts jumped out to an early advantage, and the Great Danes were unable to overcome a first-quarter deficit, dropping their second league tilt of the season 53-49.
COACH COLLEEN MULLEN: “I’m proud of how we competed today. It was a great game atmosphere and certainly an exciting back-and-forth game for the fans. Both teams played terrific defense, but offensively we struggled to find our rhythm. We need to focus on resting our bodies and growing from this game as we go back on the road Wednesday.”
KEY STATS
- Junior Kayla Cooper led with a double-double from 18 points and 10 rebounds. This is her third double-double of the season and ninth of her career.
- Senior Helene Haegerstrand followed on offense with 11 points while graduate student followed on defense with eight rebounds.
- Redshirt-junior Morgan Haney had the most accurate hand shooting 75 percent from the field.
- Senior Grace Heeps owned a team-high five assists, which accounted for over half of the team’s nine total assists.
- Haney led in transition with three steals. Heeps and Hahne followed with two each.
- Heeps and Haegerstrand notched one block each.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The game began with back-and-forth scoring but four unanswered baskets gave Vermont a 10-point lead just after the halfway mark in the first quarter.
- UAlbany answered with a strong defense but was unable to catch up offensively as the Catamounts carried a 16-11 lead into the second quarter.
- Kayla Cooper opened the second quarter with a three-point play to close the lead to 16-14.
- The Catamounts extended their advantage with a 7-3 scoring run in just over two minutes of action.
- The Great Danes answered with a scoring run of their own putting the game within one point, 25-24, at 1:49 in the second.
- Starting the second half down one, Cooper hit a layup to give the Great Danes their first lead of the contest.
- Vermont kicked up their offensive push in the third quarter and outscored UAlbany 11-4 in the first eight minutes of the second half to gain an eight-point lead.
- The Great Danes closed the third with two jumpers from Helene Haegerstrand and Morgan Haney to secure a four-point gap ahead of the final quarter.
- Trading baskets throughout much of the fourth quarter, the Catamounts held a 52-45 lead at 1:35 before Cooper added a layup for the Great Danes 20 seconds later.
- Haney made it a one-possession game, 52-49, with 31 seconds left but UAlbany was unable to secure the victory and Vermont won, 53-49.
NEXT: The Great Danes will continue on the road at Bryant on Wednesday, February 8.