Thornton shared the team scoring lead and grabbed a career-high matching six rebounds (PHOTO BY Brian Foley)

Cooper double-double powers Great Danes to fifth-straight win

ALBANY, N.Y. (December 16, 2023) – UAlbany connected on 50-percent of its shots, including 9-for-18 from three-point range to pull away from Stonehill College for a 77-38 victory in a non-conference women's basketball matchup at Broadview Center this afternoon.

Senior Kayla Cooper paced UAlbany with a double-double performance as she totaled game-high totals of 16 points and 11 rebounds, including 12 points in the first half, connecting on 7-of-9 shots and dishing out six assists with five steals. Freshman Deja Evans added 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting, with seven rebounds and two blocked shots, while junior Meghan Huerter rounded out the Great Danes in double-figures with 11 points and four boards off the bench, connecting on 3-of-6 threes.

Senior Jada Thornton and freshman Brooke Paquette each scored a team-high eight points for Stonehill. Thornton also shared the team lead with a career-high matching six rebounds, with all eight of Paquette's points coming in the second half. Freshman Emma Arcà contributed a season-best seven points with four rebounds, while junior Sharn Hayward chipped in six points and three assists.

UAlbany, picked third in the America East preseason poll and a WNIT participant a year ago, scored 11 of the first 12 points in the contest, sparked by a trio of three-pointers from three different players, to grab a quick ten-point lead halfway through the opening quarter. Arcà connected with a three-pointer for Stonehill's first basket from the field with 4:31 to play in the first, and a Maureen Stapleton triple had the Skyhawks back within six (13-7) with 3:39 remaining. UAlbany held and closed the frame with an 11-2 run that was capped by four-straight points from Cooper to carry a 15-point lead (24-9) into the second quarter.

Arcà contributed a season-high seven points with four rebounds this afternoon (PHOTO BY Brian Foley)

Stonehill, which made 5-of-10 three-pointers in the first half, including 3-of-5 in the second quarter, got one of those long-range shots from Hayward to open the second and was back within ten (31-21) after a three by postgrad Anna Boruta with 2:47 left in the half. UAlbany held there, however, scoring the last 12 points of the half, sparked by a Huerter three and capped by four points from Cooper, to carry a 22-point (43-21) lead into halftime, and the advantage wouldn't drop below 20 through the second half.

Noteworthy

• Senior Cameron Ward returned to the court for Stonehill for the first time in 348 days following a mid-year injury. She played four minutes this afternoon and collected a steal. Ward last appeared in the Skyhawks 73-66 win at Central Connecticut State University in their NEC debut on January 2.
• Stapleton shared the team lead with six rebounds, finishing with at least a share of the team lead for the tenth time in 11 games.
• Stonehill's six three-point field goals are two shy of its season-high of eight against New Hampshire on December 6.
• UAlbany's coaching staff includes alumnae Megan Methven, '10 and Emily Bramanti, '23, as well as former assistant coach Catherine Cassidy (2015-18).

Up Next
Stonehill (0-11, 0-0 NEC) closes out its three-game road trip to wrap up its first semester schedule on Thursday, when it visits George Washington University for its first matchup with an Atlantic-10 Conference member in our Nation's Capital at 11 a.m. Please note the time change from the originally scheduled noon tipoff. The Skyhawks next home game is Saturday, December 30, when they host Fairfield University at Merkert Gymnasium to close out their non-conference slate at 2 p.m. UAlbany (9-2, 0-0 America East) visits the University of Massachusetts on Thursday at noon.

Tickets for Stonehill basketball games can be purchased in advance online at stonehillskyhawks.com/tickets, with single game and season ticket packages available.

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