Utica, NY (11/13/14) – The Utica College's women's basketball team is set to open up the 2014-15 campaign against SUNY Potsdam Saturday afternoon at Potsdam's Jerry Walsh Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
LAST SEASON: The Pioneers finished last season with a 7-18 overall record and a 2-12 conference record … UC finished off the season strong going 2-2 in the last four games, with conference wins over Alfred University and Nazareth … The Pioneers will return all starters from last year and welcome six newcomers.
TOP GUARD: Junior
Mary Miceli (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle) looks to build on her sophomore campaign as she averaged a team leading 14.3 points to go along with 4.1 rebounds … The Empire 8 Conference Honorable Mention also recorded 53 assists, 46 steals, and led the team with 35.7 minutes per game … During her freshman year, Miceli, was named the Empire 8 Rookie of the week twice and last year she was named the Empire 8 Athlete of the week once.
GOING FORWARD: UC will look to utilize
Bridget Greenwald (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills)'s scoring and rebounding ability this season … Greenwald was one of two players to average a double-double in the Empire 8; she averaged 11.6 rebounds and 10.8 points per game … Greenwald also dished out a team leading 57 assists.
FROM THE LINE TO THE ARC: Guard
Marissa Kahane (Sayville, NY/Sayville) was one of the Pioneers leading shooters last year … Kahane averaged a team leading .729 from the line and averaged .320 behind the arc … She also pitched in with 49 rebounds, 17 steals, and 25 assists.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP: Seniors
Samantha Stayer (Allegany, NY/Allegany-Limestone),
Christy Traglia (Mohawk, NY/Mohawk), and
Adriana Surprenant (Utica, NY/New York Mills) will also be relied upon to lead the Pioneers… Stayer was second on the team last season with an average of 12.8 points per game while logging just over 30 minutes of playing time per game… Traglia totaled 142 points while starting 24-of-25 games, while Suprenant chipped in wth 2.1 points per game.
MEET THE FRESHMEN: Utica will field six freshmen this year, including,
Ashelyne Babb (Lynn, MA/Winthrop),
Ashley Mayo (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet),
Alaina Tripp (Clyde, NY/Clyde-Savannah),
Emily Pinckney (Canton, NY/High C. Williams),
Amanda Henderson (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph by the Sea), and
Maggie Tabone (Rochester, NY/Churchville-Chili) … Babb played basketball in Lynn, Massachusetts; making her the only out-of-state freshmen … Mayo, Tripp, and Henderson look to make an immediate impact for the Pioneers.
COACH DAVIS:
Michele Davis will be entering her 15th season as head coach of the women's basketball team … Against SUNY Cobleskill (1/13/14), Coach Davis, picked up her 200th win at UC … Davis is the program's all-time leader in wins with 202 … Her stellar career includes eight conference tournament appearances, two NCAA tournament appearances, two conference championships, four ECAC Tournament appearances and is averaging over 14 wins per season.
SCOUTING THE BEARS: SUNY Potsdam went 6-19 last year and 2-8 at home … The Bears averaged 64.1 points per game while opponents averaged 71.9 … Potsdam lost their top scorer from last year and will have to rely on Bailey Weigel and Carli Reynolds to fill in.
LAST TIME AGAINST SUNY POTSDAM: This will mark the fifth straight year Utica and Potsdam will face off in the season opener … UC is 3-1 and lost last year's opener 78-77 … In that game
Mary Miceli (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle) scored a career-best 42 points and
Bridget Greenwald (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills) grabbed 12 rebounds and eight points … The Bears had 13 points from their bench while UC only had four.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Pioneers will host their home opener against Oneonta on Tuesday at the Harold T. Clark Athletic Center. The game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.
--- www.ucpioneers.com ---
