Michele Davis will return to the Utica sidelines for her 23rd season as head coach of the women’s basketball team in the 2023-24 season. Coach Davis, who is the program’s all-time leader in career victories, holds an overall record of 279-263 which is good enough for a win percentage of .515.
Davis has made ten conference tournament appearances while averaging nearly 14 wins per season over her two-decade career. Throughout her tenure at UC, she has led Utica to two NCAA Tournament appearances, two conference championships and four ECAC Tournament appearances.
The 2002-2003 Empire 8 Coach of the Year has led her players to All-Conference status 47 times, including four Player of the Year and two Rookie of the Year selections over the past 14 years. She has also coached three different players who have earned D3hoops.com All-Region honors, one Region Player of the Year, and one multi-time D3hoops.com All-American. She has coached an All-American in two out of the last three years.
In the 2023-24 season, Davis led the team to ten wins overall and seven wins in the conference. Freshman Vanessa Hall earned First-team all-conference and Emire 8 Rookie of the Year. Krissy Geraci earned the Empire 8 Sports Woman of the Year award. Davis coached the team to the Empire 8 Conference tournament for the second time as the fifth seed.
In the 2022-23 season, Davis coached the team to ten wins overall and five wins in the conference. Forward Mackenzie Simmons and Forward Kristin Miller were selected to the Empire 8 All-Conference teams. Seven members of the team were picked to the 2022 E8 President's List for exceptional academic achievement.
The program returned to the floor for the 2021-22 campaign with eyes on taking the next step in their recent ascent, and the Pioneers certainly took care of business. They opened with a program-best 12-0 start and finished with an impressive 19-7 record. A 10-6 conference record put Utica into the Empire 8 conference tournament as the fourth seed, and gave the squad the honor of hosting a postseason game. Forward Sydney Przygoda and guard Brigid Johndrow were selected to the Empire 8 All-Conference teams, and Przygoda's award parade continued to include WBCA honorable mention All-America honors, and the Empire 8 Co-Woman of the Year award. Seven members of the team were picked to the 2022 E8 President's List for exceptional academic achievement.
The 2019-20 season was a standout campaign in the program’s recent history, as Davis guided the team back into the Empire 8 Championship Tournament with a 15-11 record, and an 8-6 mark in conference play for a third place finish. The team was led by Empire 8 Conference Player of the Year Nicolette Conkin, who was also named the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year. One of the most dynamic point guards in program history, Conkin was fourth in the nation in assists in her senior campaign and was named a D3hoops.com First Team All-Region selection. She was also a finalist to attend the prestigious WBCA Division III All-Star game. Two other Pioneers were selected to the All-Conference teams. Forward Sydney Przygoda joined Conkin on the first team after recording thirteen double-double performances and leading the conference in field goal percentage. Sam Cichon was selected as the program’s representative on the E8 Sportswoman of the Year team. Four players were selected to the Fall 2019 Empire 8 President’s List.
In the 2018-19 season, the Pioneers were led by three players that received All-Empire 8 honors. Sydney Pryzgoda received 2nd team all-Empire 8 and Nicolette Conkin was awarded honorable mention for the conference. Alayna Cormier received the sportswoman of the year award from the Empire 8. In the classroom, the women's basketball team accumulated a 3.26 GPA for the spring semester.
During the 2017-18 season Davis put the ball in the hands of her senior guard duo of Ashley Mayo and Ashelyne Babb, as both were able to surpass the 1,000-point mark for their careers. As the head coach, she helped lead Ashley Mayo and Maggie Tabone into earning All-Conference recognition. It was Mayo’s second straight All-Conference selection, receiving an Honorable Mention, as she was second on the team with an average of 11.9 points per game and scored double digit points in 15 consecutive games during the year. Tabone was named UC’s representative on the Empire 8 Sportswoman of the Year Team.
In the 2016-2017 season, Davis led junior Ashley Mayo and senior Calypso Carty to All-Conference accolades. It marked the first time in her career that Mayo earned an All-Conference nod as she was named second team All-Empire 8. Mayo averaged a team-high 14.5 points per game as she finished the regular season ranked fifth in the E8 in scoring. She recorded three double-doubles this season and scored in double figures in 13 of the final 15 games. Carty was named the E8 Sportswoman of the Year.
For the 2015-16 season, Davis guided Mary Miceli and Christy Traglia to All-Conference honors. Miceli is making her third straight All-Conference appearance and in her four year career has appeared in 98 games and has started in 89. She ends her career ranked sixth on the College's all-time scoring list with 1,265 points. She also ranks second all-time at UC with 169 career 3-pointers. She ended the year first on the team and ninth in the Empire 8 in points per game (13.9), she was fifth in the E8 in 3-pointers per game (1.9), she was third in the conference in steals per game (2.0), and she was first in the conference in minutes per game (37.0). Traglia played in 89 games, starting in 69 of those. Traglia had 380 career points, 212 total rebounds, 117 assists, 70 steals, and five blocks in her four year career.
In the 2014-2015 season, the Pioneer general guided Mary Miceli and Bridget Greenwald to All-Conference status. Miceli finished sixth in the conference in scoring (14.3) and 16th in assists (2.2) while second in minutes played (35.7). She scored a career-high 42 points in a loss to SUNY Potsdam (11/16/13) and scored in double figures in 18 out of 24 games. Bridget Greenwald, the team’s captain, has averaged 7.0 points and 8.0 rebounds over her four-year career. This season she was first in the conference and 25th nationally in rebounding with 11.6 per game. She recorded 11 double-doubles (points-rebounds). Greenwald passed Vicki Broschard '93 for seventh place on the College's career rebounding list and she now has 576 for her career.
In 2013-2014, Coach Davis led senior Meghan Fiore to several awards in her final campaign including her third straight First-Team All-Conference and ECAC Upstate First-Team All-Star selections along with the second-annual recipient of the Jim “Doc” Spartano Outstanding Senior Student-Athlete Award. On Feb. 25th, Davis and her Pioneers edged a 64-61 victory over second place Hartwick in the Play4kay Game in front of a statewide live audience on Time Warner Cable Sports.
In 2010-2011, Davis posted an 11-5 record in the competitive E8 while finishing with a 15-11 record overall. She guided two-time All-American Jessica Berry to a Hall Of Fame finish to her career as she set numerous school records and was honored with six post season awards.
Davis found continued success by making her second NCAA Division III Tournament appearance in 2009-2010. She guided the Pioneers to a program-best 22-7 overall record, an Empire 8 Conference Tournament Championship and a NCAA Tournament victory over perennial power Moravian College.
In 2007-08 she guided the Pioneers to a 17-11 overall record, and a 10-6 mark in the Empire 8 Conference. Utica won its first-ever Empire 8 Conference Championship with a 55-46 win over host Stevens Institute of Technology on Mar. 1, which earned the Pioneers their first bid to the NCAA Div. III Tournament since the 1984-1985 season.
In 2006-07 Davis led the Pioneers to an 18-9 record including a 10-4 conference mark. Utica made it to the Empire 8 Conference Tournament Semifinals where they fell to Ithaca College. The Pioneers were then selected to play in the ECAC Upstate Championships where they lost in the first round to William Smith.
Davis was elevated to head coach in the fall of 2000 after serving as the team’s assistant coach for two years. She also had served as an assistant coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). Her coaching achievements include being named the 2004-2005 WBLA/Russell Athletic Division III Region II Coach of the Year and 2002-2003 Empire 8 Coach of the Year.
