Utica, NY (1/17/14)- The Utica College women's basketball team hits the road this weekend for a big Empire 8 Conference set.  The Pioneers take on Nazareth College Friday evening at 8 p.m. and then St. John Fisher College Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers are coming off a convincing 79-60 win over SUNY Cobleskill on Monday… Junior Samantha Stayer (Allegany, NY/Allegany-Limestone) netted a career-high 28 points and brought down 12 rebounds to lead UC… Junior shooting guard Marissa Kahane (Sayville, NY/Sayville) chipped in with a season-high 15 point effort, while freshman Kelsey Cowell (Schenectady, NY/Mohonasen) added 13 points and six rebounds as the Pioneers snapped a five game slide and improved to 5-8 overall.

STAYER STAYING HOT: Junior Samantha Stayer (Allegany, NY/Allegany-Limestone) has elevated her play since the winter break… In the last five games, she has averaged 16.8 points and 7.2 rebounds…  Her best outing was against Cobleskill when she scored a career-best 28 points and collected a season-high 12 boards for her second double-double in the last five games.

COACH DAVIS REACHES MILESTONE: With the win over Cobleskill on Monday, Head Coach Michele Davis picked up her 200th career victory, all of which have come at Utica College… Over the last 13 years at the helm, she has led the Pioneers to eight conference tournament appearances, two Empire 8 Conference Championships, two NCAA Tournament births, and four ECAC Tournament appearances, while averaging 15 wins per season. 

LEADING THE WAY: Sophomore Mary Miceli (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle) leads the team with 14.3 points per game and 24 3-pointers on the season… Senior Bridget Greenwald (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills) and junior Samantha Stayer (Allegany, NY/Allegany-Limestone) have each averaged 10.8 points per game, while Greenwald leads the squad with 154 rebounds (11.8/gm) and 22 steals.

SCOUTING NAZARETH: The Golden Flyers are 5-8 overall and 1-3 in the Empire 8 Conference… They are coming off back-to-back conference losses to Stevens (71-53) and Hartwick (72-54) last weekend… Naz is led by sophomore Lindsey Kelly, who has averaged 14.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game… UC holds an 8-2 advantage in head-to-head play in the last five years… Both losses to the Golden Flyers have come by just one point… Last year, the teams split, with the road team winning each game.   

SCOUTING ST. JOHN FISHER: The Cardinals are 8-5 overall and 1-2 in the conference… Their lone Empire 8 win came against Stevens 74-58 last weekend… Senior Camaryn Buckner leads Fisher with 15.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game…   UC is 5-5 against the Cardinals in their last ten meetings… Last year, UC downed Fisher 73-69 in overtime at home, before falling 60-44 in their meeting in Rochester.

LOOKING AHEAD: The Pioneers return home next weekend to host Hartwick College and Stevens Institute of Technology… Friday's match up against Hartwick is scheduled for 8 p.m. followed by a 4 p.m. tilt against Stevens on Saturday.


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