Mullen's Danes slide past Merrimack in opener

Posted: Nov 7, 2023 / 12:33 AM EST

Updated: Nov 8, 2023 / 02:03 PM EST

NORTH ANDOVER, MA (NEWS10) — The Great Danes gradually gained a solid lead throughout three quarters until Merrimack caught up in the fourth. Holding true through a neck-and-neck final 10 minutes, UAlbany earned the game-one victory, Monday night.

COACH COLLEEN MULLEN: “I’m extremely proud of how the team battled tonight against a veteran, scrappy team in Merrimack. We made big plays and got key stops down the stretch. I couldn’t be happier with our team’s effort.”

KEY STATS

Graduate student Sarah Karpell led the Great Danes with 17 points, three assists, and two steals.
Freshman Deja Evans led on the boards with six total rebounds.
Senior Kayla Cooper and junior Lilly Phillips followed Karpell with 11 points each.
Cooper held a team-high 60% accuracy from the field while both Karpell and junior Meghan Huerter went 2-3 from outside the arc.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Sarah Karpell scored the first points on the season with two successful free throw attempts.
Three minutes into action, Merrimack tallied the first field goal but the Great Danes answered on the next possession as graduate student Helene Haegerstrand made a jumper in the paint.
UAlbany continued what turned out to be eight consecutive points to gain a 10-2 lead with just under half of the first quarter left.
The Warriors made up the difference with a couple of three-pointers as the first quarter ended in the Great Danes’ favor, 15-14.
Lilly Phillips opened the second quarter with UAlbany’s first three-pointer of the season.
Merrimack took a two-point lead but two consecutive three-pointers from Meghan Huerter returned the advantage to the Great Danes.
It was a defensive show with only five baskets (free throws) made in the final five and half minutes of the first half.
Coming back from halftime down 27-22, the Warriors quickly closed the gap with a three-pointer on their first possession.
UAlbany gradually gained a nine-point lead, 38-29, with baskets from Phillips, Karpell, and Kayla Cooper.
Play continued back and forth in the second half of the third quarter as the Great Danes held a 45-37 lead once the horn sounded.
The Warriors closed the scoring gap with a 10-3 scoring run in the beginning of the final quarter.
With just over two minutes remaining in the game, Merrimack put the game within one point, 52-51.
A three-pointer from Karpell gave the Great Danes some breathing room but the Warriors did not stop fighting.
A Cooper free throw put the point gap at three, 58-55, with just 13 seconds remaining.
As one play remained a possibility, the UAlbany defense held strong and the attempted three-pointer was no good to secure the game-one win.