Utica, NY (1/11/13)- The Utica College women's basketball team hits the road for a two-game set this weekend.  On Friday, the Pioneers face Empire 8 provisional member, Houghton College.  On Saturday, UC will take on E8 opponent, Nazareth College.  Friday's contest will begin at 8 p.m. while Saturday's tip off is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Last Time Out: Utica is coming off a 55-35 loss to league-leader Ithaca College on Tuesday… Senior Meghan Fiore (Epping, NH/Epping) led the way with eight points and 12 rebounds… Junior Bridget Greenwald (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills) and freshman Racquel Baudanza (Staten Island, NY/New Dorp) also netted eight points each on the night, while Greenwald added nine boards. 

Where We Sit: The Pioneers are 7-7 overall and 3-2 in the Empire 8 Conference… UC is currently in third place in the E8 behind Ithaca (11-1, 4-0 E8) and Hartwick (9-3, 2-0 E8)… Utica is averaging 59.6 points per game, with over 12 points per contest coming from behind the arc.  

Fiore Moves into Fourth on All-time List: With eight points against Ithaca, senior Meghan Fiore (Epping, NH/Epping) moved past Devon Croll '11 into fourth place on the College's career point scoring list… Fiore now has 1,323 points in 93 games while wearing the orange and blue…  This season, she leads the team and is second in the conference with 210 points… She ranks second in the E8 in field goal percentage (51.2) and fourth in rebounds per game (8.8)… Fiore has also registered six double-doubles this season.

Miceli Honored: Freshman Mary Miceli (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle) was recently named the Empire 8 Rookie of the Week for the second time in three weeks… Miceli totaled 59 points in three games last week… She is now second on the team in scoring, averaging 10.6 points per game…  She has also collected 73 rebounds and dished out 26 assists so far this season. 

Greenwald Getting it Done: Junior Bridget Greenwald (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills) leads the conference with 10.2 rebounds per game… Her 143 league-best rebounds is 20 more than the second place person… She has also averaged 8.6 points per contest. 

Playmaker: Junior Alyssa Filkins (Castleton, NY/Maple Hill) leads the team, averaging almost five assists per game (4.9)… She has racked up 79 points and 28 boards in a team-high 476 minutes of work. 

Scouting Houghton: The Highlanders are 6-5 overall and have compiled a 1-2 record against Empire 8 opponents… Most recently, Houghton lost back-to-back games against Stevens and Hartwick, by scores of 64-56 and 67-58, respectively… The Highlanders are led by junior Kristen Moose, who is averaging 18.1 points and  6.9 boards per game… This will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

Scouting Naz: The Golden Flyers are 3-9 overall and 0-3 in the Empire 8…  They are coming off a 62-44 loss to Hartwick and 67-60 overtime loss to Stevens last weekend… Nazareth is led by freshman Lindsey Kelly who has averaged 13.7 points and added 6.3 rebounds per contest…  UC is 13-1 against Naz dating back to 2005… The lone Golden Flyer victory came by way of a 57-56 win on Jan. 6 last year… Utica rebounded to down Nazareth 61-55 on Feb. 4, 2012. 

Looking Ahead: The Pioneers return to action Saturday, Jan. 19 as they host Elmira College… Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m.


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