Danes Are Dancing Against North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday

THE STARTING FIVE 1. The Game UAlbany takes on North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Great Danes, who were the regular season champions for the first time in program history, became just the fourth team in conference history to win both the regular season & tournament titles in the same season. 2. Scouting UAlbany The Great Danes stand at 27-3 on the season and posted an unblemished 16-0 league record. UAlbany has now won 19 straight, and is defeating America East opponents by 23.8 points. Three-time Defensive Player of the Year and 2013 Co-Player of the Year Ebone Henry has continued to show why she has earned that title, as she has recorded a team-high 82 steals - including a season-high eight against BU on the road - while also scoring at a team-best 13.9 clip. Julie Forster is pulling down a team-best 8.2 caroms per game, while also chipping in with 9.3 points. The Great Danes have a quartet of players averaging double-digit scoring totals, led by Henry, and followed by Megan Craig (10.6), Lindsey Lowrie (10.5), and Shereesha Richards (10.2). 3. Bringing Home the Hardware The Great Danes cleaned house at the 2013 America East Conference Awards Reception, held on Thursday, March 7. Senior Ebone Henry earned her third straight Defensive Player of the Year honor, and was also named Co-Player of the Year along with Boston U.’s Chantell Alford. Joining Henry on the First Team & All-Defensive Team is senior Julie Forster, who also earned All-Academic Team honors. Shereesha Richards took home Co-Rookie of the Year accolades, sharing the award with Maine’s Liz Wood, while Megan Craig and Lindsey Lowrie were named to the All-Conference Third Team. Great Dane mentor Katie Abrahamson-Henderson was a unanimous selection as Coach of the Year after guiding UAlbany to just the 7th undefeated league slate in America East history. 4. Making National News Not only are the Great Danes tops in the America East, they are also making a splash in the national statistics. As of the last release of the national stats, UAlbany is ranked in the top 20 in eight categories - with their lowest ranking being 17th (3-point percentage - 35.9). The Great Danes, in fact, are third in scoring defense (49.0) and fifth in field goal % defense (33.2). UAlbany is also seventh in rebound margin (+10.4), tenth in scoring margin (+18.4), 11th in W-L percentage (90.0), 12th in field goal % (44.8), and 13th in steals (11.9). Individually, Lindsey Lowrie is 8th nationally in 3-point shooting percentage (42.3). UNC is in the top 20 in just three categories - 2nd in steals (13.4), 14th in blocks (5.4), and 19th in W-L percentage (82.4). 5. Best of the Best The senior duo of Ebone Henry and Julie Forster have made indelible marks on the UAlbany women’s basketball program. Henry scored 21 points against Vermont to become the all-time leading scorer in school history, breaking a record that stood for 27 years. With nine boards against UMBC, Forster became the first player in program history to record 1,000 rebounds, and then netted 10 points against Binghamton to score her 1,000th career point. Henry is also 4th in career rebounds (755) and is second in steals (310).