Utica College @ Potsdam State - Season Opener
Game Details	Thursday, Nov. 15| Potsdam, N.Y. | 6 p.m.   Jerry Welsh Gymnasium | Directions
Game Coverage	All Access: Audio(WSNN) I Live Video I Live Stats
Utica Links	News | Roster | Schedule
Potsdam Links	News | Roster | Schedule

Utica, NY (11/14/2012) – The Utica College women's basketball season tips off on Thursday night as the Pioneers travel to Potsdam State to take on the Bears at 6 p.m.  Thursday night's game marks the fourth straight year the Pioneers will open up their season against the Bears.  UC has won three consecutive season-openers against Potsdam, with all three victories coming by at least nine points. 

Live Options: Fans who cannot make it out to the contest can follow all of the action live online through live video, live audio and live stats provided by Potsdam State … You can follow the Pioneers on Twitter all year long @UCPioneers or “Like” the Utica College Pioneers on Facebook. 

Last Meeting Against Potsdam: (11/15/2012) - The Utica College women's basketball team opened up the season with a convincing non-conference victory as it beat SUNY Potsdam last year, 60-49, at the Clark Athletic Center ... Senior guard Katie McGee (Philadelphia, PA/Nazareth) (graduated last year) led the Pioneers with 22 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and four steals ... Alyssa Filkins (Castleton, NY/Maple Hill) and Samantha Stayer (Allegany, NY/Allegany-Limestone) each netted 13 points, while Justine Karst (Olean, NY/Hinsdale) (graduated last year) scored nine points and grabbed 10 boards to pace UC in the win.

Davis Enters Her 13th Year at the Helm: Head Coach Michele Davis returns to UC for her thirteenth season and she is the program's all-time leader with 183 career victories …As the Pioneers head coach she has guided UC to eight conference tournament appearances, while averaging 16.5 wins per season over the course of the last ten seasons … Throughout her twelve year career, she has led Utica to two NCAA Tournament appearances, two conference championships and four ECAC Tournament appearances. 

Fiore Returns For Senior Campaign: Senior forward Meghan Fiore (Epping, NH/Epping) enters her final season in the blue and orange as the program's active scoring leader with 1,113 career points through 79 games played … The Epping, NH native was a first team Empire 8 All-Conference selection for the second consecutive season last year ...  She finished second in the conference in scoring (17.1 Avg/G) and field goal percentage (49.7%), while finishing third in rebounding (8.9 Avg/G) ... Fiore had nine 20+ point performances, six double-doubles, and a career-high 35-point outing against Elmira on Feb. 11 of last year … She also became just the 10th player in program history to record over 1,000 points in a career … Fiore currently ranks seventh on the College's all-time scoring list and she needs 81 points to surpass Pioneer Hall of Famer Daphne Selby for sole possession of sixth place … Fiore also ranks fifth all-time on the College's career field goals list … She needs 46 rebounds to become the sixth player in program-history to record over 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career, joining Sharon Lyke '85, Jessica Berry '11, Bernice Wesley '90, Ava Thomas '07 and Kristen Ferraraccio '93. 

Meet the Juniors & Seniors: UC will be led this year by a five upperclassmen including Fiore, seniors Megan Browning (Epping, NH/Epping) and Brittany Baudanza (Staten Island, NY/Staten Island Tech), as well as juniors Alyssa Filkins (Castleton, NY/Maple Hill) and Bridget Greenwald (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills) … Filkins is the most experienced of the bunch, having started 40 games over the course of the last two years … Filkins currently ranks 14th on the College's all-time list with 187 career 3-pointers … Her 41 3-point field goals were the best on the team last year, as she averaged 6.8 points per contest … Baudanza started 16 games last year and finished sixth on the team with 63 total points … Baudanza was also good on the glass, totaling 78 rebounds … Browning looks to see increased action in her final season after starting in one game a year ago … Greenwald will play an intricate role in the post after logging an average of 10.4 minutes of game time a year ago …  She finished sixth on the team with 66 rebounds, including 28 on the offensive glass. 

Five Sophomores Return: The list of UC letter winners returning includes the sophomore class of Marissa Kahane (Sayville, NY/Sayville), Samantha Stayer (Allegany, NY/Allegany-Limestone), Stephanie Beck (Leyden, MA/Pioneer Valley), Adriana Surprenant (Utica, NY/New York Mills) and Brooke Martel (Griswold, CT/Griswold) … Kahane and Stayer both played in 21 games last year and put forth solid contributions … Kahane averaged over 15 minutes per game and scored 93 total points, including 23 3-pointers, while Stayer has a ton of potential in the post … Stayer averaged 3.0 points per game and totaled 33 rebounds … Suprenant, who just wrapped up an NCAA Tournament run with the women's field hockey team, looks to see increased action in her second year after playing in ten games as a freshman … Martel saw court time in 12 games last year and knocked down three 3-pointers … Beck will provide great depth for the Pioneers' sophomore class with a year of collegiate experience under her belt. 

Newcomers: The freshman class includes seven new faces and the Pioneers' also picked up two-sport athlete Christy Traglia (Mohawk, NY/Mohawk), a sophomore who is a member of the softball team as well … The freshman class includes Brandi Pasternack (North Brookfield, MA/Quabbin Regional), Natalie Powers (Poland, NY/Poland Central), Mary Miceli (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle), Sarah Kinney, Raquel Baudanza (younger sister of senior Brittany Baudanza (Staten Island, NY/Staten Island Tech)), Kelcei Edmonds (Pittsburgh, PA/Shady Side Academy) and Deena Muzafar (Middle Village, NY/Brooklyn Technical).