Haegerstrand, Haney lead UAlbany attack in win over NJIT

by: Casey Mae Filiaci

Posted: Jan 14, 2023 / 11:43 PM EST

Updated: Jan 15, 2023 / 09:35 AM EST

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The University at Albany women’s basketball team was a force to be reckoned with as senior forward Helene Haegerstrand and redshirt junior guard Morgan Haney made their way to a combined three career highs in a 19-point victory over NJIT Saturday evening.

COACH COLLEEN MULLEN: “Today was a total team win. We locked into a game plan and executed very well on both sides of the floor. NJIT has many threats, and we knew we needed to be focused defensively. Our players have been working so hard in practice – they earned this win.”

KEY STATS

Shooting 10-11 from the field, including 4-4 from the three-point line, senior Helene Haegerstrand led the Great Danes with 28 points for a career-high. Her previous career-high was 26 points, which she scored at Seton Hall (12/13/20).
Redshirt-junior Morgan Haney tied her career high, totaling a season-high, with 20 points. Haney last scored 20 points in the 2022 America East Championship.
Graduate student Ellen Hahne contributed double-digit points (14) to follow Haegerstrand and Haney.
In the offensive battle, the Great Danes tied a season-high with 73 total points. UAlbany previously scored 73 points at Dartmouth (12/6).
Haney and Hahne notched a team-high three assists while Haney also led with a career-high five steals.
Junior Kayla Cooper and Hahne led the team on defense with five rebounds each.
Cooper and Haegerstrand shared a team-high two blocks against the Highlanders.
As a team, the Great Danes shot 51% from the field with an 81.8% accuracy from the three-point line.
Since arriving at UAlbany, head coach Colleen Mullen has surpassed the 70-point mark 13 times. Today marked the eighth time Mullen’s Great Danes totaled at least 73 points in one contest.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Morgan Haney scored the first field goal of the matchup to tie the score at two after one minute of action.
Remaining a close game, the score was tied at seven after an NJIT three-pointer with 6:23 on the clock.
The Great Danes crossed the 10-point threshold with six unanswered points.
Closing the first quarter with an 8-2 scoring run, UAlbany notched a 22-11 advantage.
The Highlanders came out of the quarter break hot. Closing the lead with six unanswered points, NJIT also had a defense that did not allow a basket from the Great Danes for over five minutes.
Assisted by Ellen Hahne, Helen Haegerstrand tallied the first UAlbany field goal of the second quarter at 4:27. Adding five more points for the Great Danes, Haegerstrand assisted in the return of a 10-point advantage, 30-20.
Scoring the remaining six points, Morgan Haney closed out the quarter for UAlbany. The Highlanders took the 17-14 advantage throughout the second but the Great Danes held on to a 36-28 lead ahead of the halftime break.
UAlbany started the third quarter on fire. Firing on all cylinders, the Great Danes tallied 14 points and held NJIT to just two, a singular field goal, in the first five minutes of the second half.
After the quarter-opening 16-2 scoring run, UAlbany gained a 22-point lead with just under 15 minutes to play in the game.
NJIT evened out their offense with the Great Danes but UAlbany held on to a 20-point lead, 62-42, to finish the third quarter.
The Great Danes continued to further their lead with an 11-4 scoring run in six minutes of play.