ALBANY – With the nonconference schedule her team has laid out for it, University at Albany women’s basketball coach Kelly Morrone knows for certain that, by the time she leads the Great Danes into their first America East Conference game on New Year’s Eve, they’ll be ready for what’s coming.
“When I’m looking at our nonconference, it’s loaded,” Morrone said. “We’ve got a lot to prepare for, obviously, before getting to conference. It goes by so slowly and so fast all at one time. We’re really just trying to keep our feet where we are and continue to do the things that are helping us get better.”
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The Great Danes, who officially kicked off preseason practice Monday at Broadview Center, have a nonconference slate filled with high-profile games against power conference opponents.
Early in the season, UAlbany will travel to Ole Miss of the SEC and Rutgers of the Big Ten less than a week apart. In mid-December, Morrone will take her team to her alma mater, South Carolina, to face a Gamecocks program that’s won three national championships in the past decade and reached six consecutive Final Fours under coach Dawn Staley.
Forward Madison Roman, who followed Morrone from Merrimack to UAlbany when she was hired to replace Colleen Mullen after her departure for Rhode Island, said challenges like that are common when playing for a Morrone-led team.
“Her main thing is, it’s not like you can’t mess up; her main things are you never back down to anyone, and you fight for everything,” Roman said. “It’s just the grit and effort that’s her main thing, and she wants everyone to see that we’re a gritty team and we’re going to get after it.”
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The roster that took the court Monday afternoon was almost wholly unrecognizable from the UAlbany team that went 14-16 under Mullen in 2025-26. Following Mullen’s departure, more players (four) from last year’s team followed their coach to URI than players (two) who remained with Morrone’s version of the Great Danes.
Guard Lara Langermann and forward Emma Zuccon are the only returning players for the Great Danes, who will play an exhibition game Oct. 29 at home against St. Thomas Aquinas before playing their season opener Nov. 2 at Northeastern.
Three players – Roman, guard Daria Shishkina and forward Cadence Johnson – followed Morrone from Merrimack. The other nine players are a mix of freshmen, both from the U.S. and overseas, and transfers from lower collegiate divisions. Several players were added to the UAlbany roster after the team’s summer workouts.
Guard Shyla Montgomery, a graduate transfer from Division II Daemen, said the Great Danes have embraced the underdog mentality that Morrone likes to impart on her teams.
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“We’re going to work hard,” said Montgomery, who averaged 8.7 points, 3 rebounds and 2.8 assists last season at Daemen. “We’re going to try to outwork everybody. We’re a new team, new coaching staff, and we’re just going to come in and give it everything we’ve got.”
Roman, a senior forward who was an All-Metro first-team selection under Morrone last season at Merrimack, said the Great Danes jelled quickly throughout the summer and arrived at Monday’s practice full of energy.
“We’re just super hungry to get after it,” she said. “You can feel the intensity and the build-up, even from the summer.”
For Morrone, who came to UAlbany following impressive, program-building stints at Merrimack and Division III John Carroll, her first season with the Great Danes is a chance to leave a stamp on a program that’s made six NCAA Tournament appearances under three different head coaches over the last 15 years.
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“We’re competitors at the end of the day, and the product is winning or losing,” Morrone said. “We know the process is important before thinking about the product, but we want to put our imprint on being the women’s basketball program now and representing UAlbany – not just what’s been done in the past, but hopefully in the present and bringing into the future.”
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This article originally published at UAlbany women’s basketball kicks off preseason ahead of ambitious nonconference slate.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
