(Dover, Del.) – Looking to build off its first victory of the season, the Delaware State women's basketball team (1-2) will head north to take on the Albany Great Danes (4-0) this Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.
The Opponent
» Albany Great Danes (4-0, 0-0 America East)
The Great Danes enter Sunday's contest at the end of a four-game homestand. Starting the season undefeated, UAlbany has won each game by double digits with the largest victory occurring in its season opener against Siena, 69-42.
As a team, the Great Danes are shooting 50 percent (110-of-221) from the field, while limiting their opponents to 32 percent (72-of-224) shooting. Leading the charge for UAlbany is forward Shereesha Richards, who is coming off back-to-back America East Player of the Week honors. Through four games, the junior out of Jamaica is averaging at 22 points and 12 rebounds per game, to go along with shooting 76 percent (16-of-21) from the charity stripe.
UAlbany's offensive attack also features guard Sarah Royals. Starting every game, Royals is pouring in 14.5 points and dishing out 6.5 assists per contest.
» The Head Coach: As the 10th head coach in the program's history, Katie Abrahamson-Henderson is in her fourth season at the helm. Last season, the Great Danes turned in their best performance in team history, going 27-4 with a perfect 16-0 conference record and winning a second-straight America East championship.
» The Series: DSU is 0-1 all-time against UAlbany. The lone meeting between the two squads occurred last season with the Great Danes picking up the victory, 79-57. In that game, UAlbany's Shereesha Richards led scorers with 16 points off the bench, while guard Jade Washington was the high scorer for DSU with 10.
A Win Would Mean…
» The Hornets would have at least a .500 record since being 2-0 to start the 2011-12 season.
» DSU's first road victory since beating Florida A&M last season, 57-53.
What to Watch For?
The battle between DSU's Tierra Hawkins and UAlbany's Shereesha Richards in the paint. Listed as forwards, both players lead their squads in points and rebounds, respectively.
Last Time Out…
DSU opened its home schedule with an 86-73 win over in-state foe Wilmington, behind forward Tierra Hawkins tying a career-high in points (30) and rebounds (15).
Guard Raven Bankston, meanwhile, tallied 17 points for the second straight game, despite going 6-for-15 (.400) from the field, whereas her sister, Raine Bankston, poured in a season-high 14 points (3-for-18) and dished out a game-high five assists.
Senior Deanna Harmon finished the night with 10 points (4-for-5), eight rebounds and a game-high three steals.
Fear the Hawk
With her scoring output against Wilmington, junior Tierra Hawkins tallied 1,000 career points to become the 15th player in team history to reach this milestone. Coming into the game, Hawkins needed two points to accomplish this feat, which occurred on DSU's first bucket.
Last season, the Clinton, Md. native, finished fourth in the conference in scoring (17.1 ppg), seventh in rebounding (7.4 rpg) and second in field goal percentage (.509). Her 529 points last season were the third most by any Hornet since the 1985-86 campaign.
With these efforts, Hawkins earned 2013-14 Preseason All-MEAC Second Team honors.
Currently, she leads the Lady Hornets in scoring (20.0 ppg), rebounds (12.3 rpg) and double-doubles (2).
At this Point Last Season…
The Lady Hornets were 0-3, coming off a 69-38 loss at Fordham.
Coming Up Next…
DSU will head to the Big Apple to take on the Manhattan Jaspers this Tuesday at 4 p.m. before heading home for the Thanksgiving Holiday.
