ONEONTA, NY – The Utica College women's basketball team won its fifth straight Empire 8 Conference contest on Tuesday night as the Pioneers downed host Hartwick College 53-47.  Senior forward Bridget Greenwald (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills) paced the Pioneers with her fifth double-double of the season as she registered a team-best 12 points and 12 rebounds.

The Pioneers jumped out to a 30-18 lead in the first 20 minutes of action and never looked back as they improved to 9-8 overall and 5-3 in the Empire 8.  Hartwick has now lost five straight as its record moved to 4-12 overall and 2-5 in E8 play. 

Hartwick led 15-14 11:56 into the contest until the Pioneers used a 16-3 run in the final 6:40 of the first half to take a 12 point lead at the half.

The Hawks cut the UC lead to five points, 40-35, with 9:05 left in regulation but that was as close as they would get. Utica answered with a 13-4 run in the next 6:18 to earn its largest lead of the contest, 53-39, with under two minutes remaining.

Hartwick managed to cut the Pioneers lead to six points in the closing moments but it proved to be too late.

Utica's Mary Miceli (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle) posted 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals, while senior forward Samantha Stayer (Allegany, NY/Allegany-Limestone) added nine points and five rebounds.

Freshman classmates Ashley Mayo (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) and Amanda Henderson (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph by the Sea) each recorded seven points, while Ashelyne Babb (Lynn, MA/Winthrop) and Calypso Carty (Pipersville, PA/Central Bucks West) combined for eight points and three rebounds.

Jacqui Foreman and Emily Stone combined for 21 points and nine rebounds for Hartwick. 

UC returns home on Friday night when the Pioneers host Elmira College at 6 p.m. Utica opened up its five game winning streak with a victory over Elmira on the road back on January 9th.