TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The University of Maine has been a thorn in the sides of Colleen Mullen and the University at Albany women's basketball team. Coach Mullen entered Saturday night's home tilt with the Black Bears 1-11 against the rival program during her tenure at UAlbany. But the Great Danes would not be denied on Senior Night; they erased a five-point deficit with under five minutes to play, securing a 53-50 victory to stay atop the America East Conference.
COACH COLLEEN MULLEN: “Maine is such a dangerous team. They have a terrific inside presence in Smith along with their ability to score in bunches with their three-point shooting ability. I am so proud of the way our players dug in down the stretch and came up with huge defensive stops in the last three minutes. I am so happy for our seniors and proud of the contributions they have made to our program.”
KEY STATS
Junior Kayla Cooper led the team with 19 points and 11 rebounds for her 12th career double-double, sixth of the season and second in a row.
Shooting a team-high 7-13, including a game-high three three-pointers, senior Helene Haegerstrand followed with 17 points.
Haegerstrand and Cooper each tallied a game-high three assists.
A force in the paint, graduate student Ellen Hahne led with two steals and one block.
Graduate student Lucia Decortes tied Hahne with one block.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Maine coined the first two baskets of the game after grabbing an early 4-0 lead.
UAlbany responded as senior Fatima Lee took a pass from Helene Haegerstrand for a buzzer-beating layup to start a 6-0 scoring run.
In the final four minutes of the first, UAlbany furthered their lead to take a 10-6 lead into the second quarter.
In a defensive start to the quarter, the Great Danes held a 15-8 lead at 6:05.
The Black Bears shifted momentum and scored eight unanswered points to take the lead with 3:57 remaining in the half.
Once again, the tides turned and UAlbany outscored Maine, 10-3, to enter halftime with a six-point lead, 25-19.
Coming out of the break, the Black Bears went 7-2 to cut the lead to one, 27-26, in over two minutes of play.
After trading points, Maine tied the game at 34 near the midway point of the third.
As the back-and-forth action continued, the Black Bears finished the quarter with a one-possession lead, 40-38.
As the Great Danes attempted to maintain a high level of energy, Maine continued with a slight advantage through much of the final quarter.
A three-pointer from Haegerstrand with just over three minutes to go changed the feel of the arena before Kayla Cooper notched a layup that gave UAlbany a 49-48 lead.
After Cooper added a three-point play, the Great Danes held a multi-possession advantage with under two minutes to play.
In the final 10 seconds of the game, the UAlbany defense came up huge when forcing a turnover and regaining possession with six seconds on the clock.
After holding off the Black Bears for the final six seconds, the Great Danes took home the 53-50 victory, Saturday night.
NEXT: The Great Danes will take Wednesday off while preparing for their final regular-season contest at NJIT (Feb. 25).
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