TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Women’s Basketball Falls Short in Battle with Cornell 

SCORE: Cornell 53, UAlbany 45

LOCATION: McDonough Athletic Center (HVCC) – Troy, N.Y.

RECORDS: UAlbany 4-5, 0-0 America East | Cornell 5-4, 0-0 Ivy League

SHORT STORY: In a tight matchup, the Great Danes gained the lead in the third quarter, but Cornell turned up the pressure in the fourth quarter to win, 53-45, Saturday night. 

COACH COLLEEN MULLEN: “Certainly not the outcome we wanted considering this is one of our few home games and the last until after the holiday break. Cornell’s pressure sped us up which caused too many turnovers, some forced and some unforced. Defensively, I’m proud of how we executed a game plan but we just couldn’t keep them off the offensive glass. We will learn and grow from this.”

KEY STATS

  • Senior Helene Haegerstrand led the Great Danes with 12 points, shooting 50% from the field. Haegerstrand notched the lone UAlbany block.
  • Senior Grace Heeps followed with 10 points while shooting a team-high 80% from the field. 
  • Leading UAlbany on defense, graduate student Ellen Hahne grabbed 6 rebounds, followed by Lilly Phillips with 5. 
  • Sophomore Freja Werth tallied a team-high three assists and four steals. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Cornell tallied the first two baskets of the game with a mid-range jumper and a three-pointer giving the Big Red an early 5-0 lead.  
  • Lilly Phillips grabbed the first UAlbany basket before helping the Great Danes tie the game at 7 with 3:50 on the first-quarter clock.
  • The Big Red pulled ahead to close the quarter, 11-9.
  • Trading points in the early stages of the second quarter, the Big Red held a 17-14 advantage with five minutes remaining in the half.
  • The Great Danes outscored Cornell, 6-3, in the last three minutes of the half to cut the lead to just two points at halftime. 
  • Hitting a long jumper, Grace Heeps opened the scoring in the second half to tie the game at 24 after less than a minute of play. 
  • UAlbany grabbed an 11-4 scoring run through the next six minutes of play to force a Cornell timeout.
  • Scoring nine unanswered points, the Big Red reclaimed the lead to finish the third quarter, 37-35. 
  • The fourth quarter started with back-and-forth baskets as Cornell’s two-point advantage continued through five minutes of action.
  • Going on a 10-2 scoring run in the final four minutes, the Big Red managed to hold off the Great Danes to win, 53-45.