Hall of Fame
Any discussion about the great teams in Utica University Athletics history should include the 2009-10 women's basketball team. With two members already in the Pioneer Hall of Fame, this legendary squad gets its collective day in the spotlight as the fifth team to be enshrined. They are in exceptional company as the second women's basketball team to get honored alongside the trailblazers of Utica's first women's basketball team from the 1949-50 season.
The 2009-10 Pioneers had one of the program's best seasons to date. They posted a 22-7 overall record to tie the team's single-season wins record. Utica was a sparkling 12-1 at home. The squad went 12-4 in the Empire 8 Conference before going on to capture the conference tournament championship and advance to the second round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball tournament. The Pioneers made their fourth appearance in the national tournament that year.
The squad's path to the Empire 8 tournament title came down to the last second, as Pioneer Hall of Fame inductee Jess Berry scored a layup basket at the buzzer to lift Utica over top-seeded Ithaca College by a 38-37 score. From there, the Pioneers advanced to the NCAA Championships as an automatic qualifier. They battled back from a fifteen-point deficit to defeat eighth-ranked Moravian by a 64-61 score in the opening round. The squad exited the tournament with a second-round loss to Gettysburg, but nevertheless came home champions in the eyes of all who supported them.
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Berry was named a D3hoops.com second team All-American and was also the Empire 8 Conference Player of the Year after ranking 11th in the nation with an average of 21.3 points per game. She also finished second in the Empire 8 Conference with 9.9 rebounds per game. Berry was also named to the ECAC Upstate All-Star Team.
On the all-conference teams, Pioneer Hall of Famer Devon Croll joined Berry on the Empire 8 First Team. Croll averaged 12.2 points and led the team with 82 assists and 80 steals as a junior. She is the program's all-time leader in steals. Guard Katie McGee was named as an honorable mention selection.
