Utica, NY (11/18/13) – The Utica College women's basketball team looks to bounce back from a one-point season opening loss as it travels to Oneonta State and RPI this week. The Pioneers play Tuesday at Oneonta State before heading to RPI on Thursday. Tip-off for both games is 6 p.m.

SO CLOSE: UC lost by one point the season opener, 78-77 to Potsdam … The Pioneers jumped out to a seven point lead in the opening minutes, however UC trailed 47-39 at halftime despite the hot start … Utica trailed by as much as 16 in the second half before tying it at 71 with 3:31 to play … Potsdam went on to grab the victory in the final minutes.

CAREER NIGHT FOR MICELI: Sophomore guard Mary Miceli (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle) poured in a career-high 42 points on Saturday … Miceli hit 15-of-28 from the floor, including 5-of-10 from behind the arc … She also added five boards, two steals and two assists while playing all 40 minutes … For her efforts, she was recently named the Empire 8 Conference Player of the Week. 

OTHER PIONEERS: Bridget Greenwald (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills) scored eight points and pulled down 12 rebounds in 38 minutes for UC … Kelcei Edmonds (Pittsburgh, PA/Shady Side Academy) scored 12 points and went 5 for 8 from the charity stripe … Christy Traglia (Mohawk, NY/Mohawk) had an efficient night for UC, knocking down 3 of 4 field goals attempts … Freshman Kelsey Cowell (Schenectady, NY/Mohonasen) grabbed eight rebounds in 18 minutes of action off the bench.

SCOUTING ONEONTA: Oneonta State started the season 2-0, capturing the Skidmore Invitational … Tuesday's contest is the Red Dragons' home opener … Oneonta is holding opponents to 60.5 points per game early in the season … Three different Red Dragons are scoring in double-digits … Grace Schilling is averaging a team-high 16 points per game, while Sarah Longto is shooting an impressive 68% from the field.

AGAINST THE RED DRAGONS: The Pioneers were beaten at home by Oneonta last season, scoring a mere 29 points in the loss … UC has lost three straight to the Red Dragons … The Pioneers are 1-7 against Oneonta dating back to the 2005-06 season … The lone win for UC during that span was in 2009, as the Pioneers edged the Red Dragons 58-56 on the road.

SCOUTING RPI: The RPI women's basketball team opened the season at 1-1 … The Engineers lost to Trinity College 75-68 before blowing out Lesley University … Thursday's contest is RPI's home opener … Amanda Lynch and Ashley Clough are the top scorers for RPI … Lynch is averaging 17.5 points per game while shooting 61% from the field … Clough had a double-double to lead the Engineers to the victory over Lesley.

AGAINST THE ENGINEERS: The Pioneers hosted RPI a season ago, losing 77-67 in the Clark Athletic Center … UC shot 53% in the loss … Miceli scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds … Utica College is 0-4 all-time against RPI.

LOOKING AHEAD: The Utica College women's basketball team returns home Saturday for its 'Faculty Appreciation Game' against Sage. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.


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