Cooper scores 20, UAlbany beats New Hampshire

by: UAlbany Athletics

Posted: Jan 9, 2025 / 11:20 PM EST

Updated: Jan 9, 2025 / 11:20 PM EST

ALBANY, NY (NEWS10) — A strong second half powered the UAlbany women’s basketball team to their third conference victory in as many contests on Thursday night.

COACH COLLEEN MULLEN: “To start the game, New Hampshire had great defensive intensity and pace. Once we settled in and started moving the ball, we were able to capitalize with our inside-out game. In the second half, we had solid offensive execution and grinded out multiple defensive stops. This was a great team win on both ends.”

KEY STATS

• Graduate student Kayla Cooper led the team with 20 points, six rebounds, three steals, and three assists while shooting over 50% from the field.
• Fellow graduate student Jessica Tomasetti followed with nine points and five rebounds. The point guard also shot 50% from the field.
• Junior Gabriela Falcao tallied a team-high two blocks.
• As a team, the Great Danes totaled nine steals with 19 points off turnovers.
• The UAlbany defense did not allow any singular Wildcat to surpass seven points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Graduate student Lilly Phillips scored the first basket of the game after a combined four scoreless possessions.
• That defensive nature continued throughout the rest of the half.
• New Hampshire gained a 9-5 lead within four minutes of action but the Great Danes quickly answered to tie the score in the next two minutes.
• UAlbany ended the quarter with a one-possession advantage, 14-11.
• Throughout the second quarter, the Great Danes allowed just two field goals for five Wildcat points.
• Four different Great Danes scored in a defensive quarter to make it a 24-16 game at halftime.
• The second half was a different game – UAlbany nearly doubled its score from the first half in the third quarter alone.
• The Great Danes began the third with a 12-2 scoring run. Ten of those points were scored in just two minutes and 23 seconds.
• Kayla Cooper and Jessica Tomasetti combined to score 10 additional points and close the third quarter with a 22-point advantage, 46-24.
• Cooper and Tomasetti scored all but three of the 22 points in the third quarter. Cooper tallied 12 alone.
• Following two fourth-quarter layups from senior Laycee Drake and Phillips, the Great Danes held a 26-point lead.
• UAlbany continued to extend their lead throughout the next seven minutes of action. The largest lead of the contest came with 1:24 left – 29 points (59-30).
• The Wildcats got the final say to make it a 27-point decision, 59-32.

NEXT: The Great Danes will close out the week at home against Maine on Saturday (Jan. 11).