The University of New Hampshire (UNH) Wildcats (6-19, 3-11) have proven all season long that they do not go away easily.  

Down 45-34 heading into the fourth quarter against a strong University of Vermont (UVM) team (17-10, 11-5), UNH rallied. 

One of the struggles earlier on in the season for the ‘Cats had been their fourth-quarter play. In two games earlier this month, the Wildcats were outscored by opponents a combined 45-11 in the fourth.  

That was something that head coach Kelsey Hogan wanted to improve upon and in the last four games, UNH is outscoring opponents 65-54.  

Vermont ultimately held on to win 61-58 but UNH managed to outscore one of the better teams in the conference 24-16 in the final frame. 

Sophomore guard Bella Stuart registered a double-double – 16 points and 10 rebounds – on a game-high 21 shots, while junior guard Brooke Kane chipped in 10 points on 5-for-8 shooting. 

The Wildcats were tasked with another tough test against a strong in-conference opponent Saturday afternoon, this time against the UAlbany Great Danes (19-8, 12-4). 

The storylines when UAlbany comes to town are always interesting; Great Danes head coach Colleen Mullen played her college basketball for UNH and ranks 17th all-time in three-pointers made and 14th in total assists. The Great Danes even defeated UNH in last year’s quarterfinal 49-43 to advance in the America East Playoffs. 

Saturday’s game, however, was all about this year’s seniors: Ivy Gogolin, Amanda Torres, Sarah Serbascewicz, Faith Bonett and Kali Grimm.  

“They’re amazing young ladies and I’m so happy and proud of them for their hard work and dedication to the program,” Hogan explained. “Those five embody the family atmosphere of the team that will be missed.” 

Kelsey Hogan had all five seniors in the starting lineup. 

The game got off to a quick start with each team knocking down a couple of threes early. Sarah Serbascewicz tallied UNH’s first points of the afternoon with a long, high-arching triple.  

The second quarter was not the Wildcats’ friend in this one. UNH was forced into several shot clock violations which got the Albany bench fired up and created palpable momentum for the road team. 

Junior forward Helene Haegerstrand was a problem all game for the ‘Cats, especially in the first half. She finished with 18 points for the game and hit a trio of three-pointers. 

The Wildcats managed to outscore the Great Danes in the second half but couldn’t shake a costly second quarter. Hogan acknowledged that was where they lost the game. 

“They are a really tough team. They got some great players and are well-coached. I was happy with our effort, but the second quarter hurt us.” 

UNH was without one of their top-five scorers in junior Helena Delaruelle which undoubtedly hurt the Wildcats’ offensive rhythm.  

Torres was the star of the afternoon for the ‘Cats as she notched 15 points for the game and shot a perfect 9-of-9 from the charity stripe.  

“For her to have the game that she had especially on senior day, a very emotional day in general, I’m proud of her for that,” Hogan said. 

The Wildcats will return to action on Wednesday afternoon against the NJIT Highlanders (14-12, 9-6) at 6 p.m. from Durham in what will likely be the team’s final home game of the season. Lundholm Gymnasium has been much kinder to the Wildcats this season than the road as they will be in search of their seventh win on the year and sixth on their home court. 

 Photo courtesy of UNH Athletics