UTICA, NY – The Utica College women's basketball team had its five game winning snapped Friday evening to visiting Empire 8 rival Elmira College, 53-52, at the Clark Athletic Center.  The Pioneers were led by freshmen duo Ashley Mayo (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) and Ashelyne Babb (Lynn, MA/Winthrop) who combined for 20 points and 12 boards (10 points, six rebounds each).

UC evens its overall record at 9-9 while falling to 5-4 in Empire 8 play and is right back on the court Saturday when it hosts Stevens Institute of Technology.  Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.

The Soaring Eagles move to 7-9 on the season as well as 4-5 in the conference.  Elmira remains on the road Saturday as it travels to Houghton College to face the Highlanders (2 p.m.).

The Pioneers trailed 18-14 halfway through the first before their offense woke up and worked a 16-5 run to close out the first 20 minutes of play with a 30-23 lead.

Elmira came out of the break focused as it managed to tie up the contest 33-33 at the 15 minute mark and would battle over the next few minutes before taking its first lead since 7:20 in the first half.  EC took a one point edge, 38-37, with 13:39 remaining in regulation.  The game wrapped up with a 15-15 scoring run by the teams however, 4-of-5 missed freebies by UC down the stretch would prove big in the loss.

Mary Miceli (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle) and Christy Traglia (Mohawk, NY/Mohawk) each netted eight points while Samantha Stayer (Allegany, NY/Allegany-Limestone) and Bridget Greenwald (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills) chipped in with six points apiece.

UC shot a dismal 27.7% (18-of-65) from the floor while missing 12 free throws (12-of-24).  The Soaring Eagles hit 43.2% of their shots for the game while converting 9-of-13 free throws. However, Elmira' drained 4-of-5 from downtown and 8-of-11 from the charity stripe in the second half which proved big down the stretch as EC closed out the one point victory.

Elmira's Alex Balara netted a game-high 21 points to go along with three rebounds and three assists.  Meghan Loya and Danielle Cleary each grabbed 10 rebounds while combining for 12 points, seven grabs and five dishes.