Haegerstrand, Lee shine as Danes upend UMBC on the road

by: Tommy Valentine, Casey Mae Filiaci

Posted: Feb 16, 2023 / 12:14 AM EST

Updated: Feb 16, 2023 / 05:43 AM EST

BALTIMORE, Maryland (NEWS10) — The University at Albany women’s basketball team overcame a five-point, first-quarter deficit to earn a 74-67 road win Wednesday night against UMBC. Senior guard Fatima Lee dropped a career-high 15 points in her first start of the season, and senior forward Helene Haegerstrand posted a game-high 25 points in the victory.

COACH COLLEEN MULLEN: “Tonight was a total team win. The entire team stepped up and played together for 40 minutes. We had great ball movement and played unselfishly. UMBC competed hard and had offensive threats at every position. I’m proud of how we responded to their runs and closed out this big road victory.”

KEY STATS

Shooting 7-12 from the field, including a 50% accuracy from the three, senior Helene Haegerstrand led the offense with 25 points and five assists.
Grabbing her fifth double-double of the season, 11th of her career, junior Kayla Cooper led the defense with 11 rebounds and added 17 points.
Senior Fatima Lee scored a career-high 15 points to follow Haegerstrand and Cooper on offense.
While shooting 66.7% from the three-point line, senior Grace Heeps owned a team-high three steals.
As a team, the Great Danes topped their previous season-high 73 points scored against Dartmouth and NJIT.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Trading baskets to start the game, the Retrievers gained the edge with two field goals in a row for a 10-7 lead at 4:54.
The Great Danes added two three-pointers but a 7-0 scoring run for UMBC closed the first quarter with an 18-13 lead for the Baltimore-based school.
UAlbany worked to tie the score at 19 in a low-scoring start to the second quarter.
Down by two, 21-19, at 4:00, the Great Danes put together nine unanswered points to close the first half with the lead.
UAlbany held UMBC to just two baskets, one field goal, while adding 15 points in the second quarter to gain the 28-21 halftime advantage.
Coming out of the break, Fatima Lee scored a three-pointer but the Retrievers followed with a 9-0 scoring run to put the game within one point, 31-30, at 5:06.
Despite UMBC eventually tying the contest at 33, the Great Danes entered the final quarter with a 44-35 lead after ending the third with an 11-2 scoring run in 3:20.
The Retrievers opened the fourth with a 9-2 scoring run to make it a two-point game at 7:16.
After trading baskets for a couple of minutes, UAlbany was able to gain and hold on to a multi-possession lead until the final two minutes of action.
Just under the two-minute mark, UMBC had worked to a five-point deficit before closing it even more to a 67-63 game at 1:01.
In the final minute of action, the Great Danes were able to hold off the Retrievers while adding to their lead with free throws before taking the 74-67 victory.