Helping hand
Haegerstrand, Hahne lead way in victory at Seton Hall
Two Great Danes’ players from Sweden combined for 43 points and 16 rebounds in upset victory over previously unbeaten Seton Hall./
How Swede it is for the University at Albany women’s basketball team.
The Great Danes’ two players from Sweden, Helene Haegerstrand and Ellen Hahne, combined for 43 points and 16 rebounds Sunday afternoon in a 71-66 nonconference upset victory over previously unbeaten Seton Hall in West Orange, N.J.
The game was scheduled less than 48 hours earlier after Ualbany’s meeting with Saint Peter’s was canceled.
“To turn around on a one-day prep, where you can barely practice after a learning experience at Hofstra, the adjustments our players made was incredible,” Ualbany coach Colleen Mullen said. “I couldn’t be more proud.”
The Danes (1-1), who were thumped 63-45 Friday at Hofstra in their season opener, shot 53 percent from the field. They never shot above 50 percent in a game all of last season.
Seton Hall (2-1), which averaged 101.5 points in its two victories, was 19-12 last season and tied for third in the powerful Big East Conference.
Haegerstrand, a sophomore who came off the bench, had 26 points and five rebounds, making 10 of 14 field-goal attempts. Hahne, a junior transfer from Wake Forest, contributed 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Ualbany led for nearly 28 minutes. Haegerstrand’s jumper with 8:38 remaining put the Danes ahead for good, 48-47.
“I’m so proud of the way we executed the game plan,” Mullen said. “They did everything we asked them to do, and they played with such toughness and played such good team basketball. Even when Seton Hall went on their runs, we answered and didn’t let them build momentum.”
Kyara Frames, who finished with 12 points, was 6-for-6 from the foul line in the final 30 seconds. Haegerstrand also made a pair of free throws with eight seconds remaining to put the game away. Ualbany was 10for-10 from the line in the game.
“The toughness of Helene, Ellen, and Kyara was so impressive,” Mullen said. “Helene had an unbelievable game. She had the hot hand, and we kept finding her, and you have to credit the unselfish play of Ellen, who also had a hot hand but kept finding Helene. Kyara was setting up her defense to set up shots for whomever was hot, and everyone performed their role admirably.”