UTICA, NY- The Utica College women's basketball team opens up regular season play on Saturday when the Pioneers host SUNY Potsdam at the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium at 3 p.m. The Pioneers return an experienced group of 10 players from last year's roster, including three of their top five scorers from a year ago, as they look to return to the Empire 8 Conference Tournament for the first time since 2011. 
 
Miceli Back for Senior Season: Mary Miceli (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle) is entering her senior season for the Pioneers as the program's active leading scorer. Miceli started 24 games last season and led UC in scoring and assists, averaging 12.6 points and 2.0 assists per game, while hauling in 4.7 rebounds per game. The E8 All-Conference selection also led UC with 45 steals on the season. Miceli's 12.6 points per game was good for 11^th in the Empire 8 Conference last season. She was also second in the conference in free throw percentage at 81.8%. She enters her fourth year in the blue and orange with 917 career points as she looks to become the 11^th player in program-history to score over 1,000 points in a career.
 
Experienced Guard Play: Christy Traglia (Mohawk, NY/Mohawk) will also be returning as a graduate student for her final season with the Pioneers. Traglia started 24 out of 25 games last season, averaging 6.3 points, 1.4 assists, and 2.6 rebounds per game. Point guard Ashley Mayo (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) will be returning as a sophomore this season. Mayo started 16 out of 25 games last season, averaging 6.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game. Mayo was fourth on the team in points and second on the team in assists. Ashelyne Babb (Lynn, MA/Winthrop) is also returning as a sophomore. Babb averaged 4.3 points, 1.2 assists, and 2.7 rebounds per game last season. Babb also accumulated 29 steals, which was good for fourth on the team.
 
Providing Depth: Other key returners for the Pioneers include Amanda Henderson (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph by the Sea), Calypso Carty (Pipersville, PA/Central Bucks West), Alaina Tripp (Clyde, NY/Clyde-Savannah), Emily Pinckney (Canton, NY/Hugh C. Williams), Kelcei Edmonds (Pittsburgh, PA/Shady Side Academy), and Maggie Tabone (Rochester, NY/Churchville-Chili). Henderson is a viable threat from 3-point range as she finished second on the team with 20 3-pointers in her freshman campaign.  Calypso Carty (Pipersville, PA/Central Bucks West) will look to increase her offensive production this season after playing in 23 games and starting six for the Pioneers last year.  Alaina Tripp (Clyde, NY/Clyde-Savannah) will also likely see increased action in her sophomore campaign after playing in 19 games and averaging 2.4 rebounds per contest last year. 

Veteran Coaching Staff: Head Coach Michele Davis is entering her 16^th season as the bench general for the Pioneers. Davis is the program's all-time winningest coach as she has accumulated an overall record of 201-164. Davis and the Pioneers have made eight conference tournament appearances in her tenure, to go along with two NCAA Tournament bids. Davis has also led UC to two conference championships and four ECAC Tournament appearances. Meghan Soja will also be returning to the Pioneers for her third season as an assistant coach. Last season UC finished with an overall record of 11-14 and 7-9 record in the highly competitive Empire 8.

Newcomers: The Pioneers have added six new players to their roster. All six new players are freshman. UC has added guards Crystal Hayner (South Otselic, NY/Otselic Valley), Alayna Cormier (Williamsburg, VA/Warhill), Madison Barrett (Latham, NY/Shaker), and Kristina Perez (Wantagh, NY/Wantagh), forward Rachel Hunter (West Islip, NY/West Islip), and center Alisha Kelly (Ambler, PA/Wissahickon).
 
Key Losses: The Pioneers will also be looking to fill some big shoes this season as they lost their two top rebounders from last season in Bridget Greenwald (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills) and Samantha Stayer (Allegany, NY/Allegany-Limestone). Greenwald was third on the team in scoring and assists, averaging nine points and 1.4 assists. She was also first on the team and third in the conference in rebounding, averaging 9.2 rebounds per game. Stayer started all 25 games for UC last season and was second on the team in scoring with 10 points per game. She also was second on the team and 13^th in the conference with 6.2 rebounds per game.
  
Key Matchups: As usual, UC will play a competitive schedule this season, with several challenging conference matchups, including St. John Fisher and Ithaca who finished first and second in the conference, and both made it to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Looking to Get Back to the Empire 8 Tournament: The Pioneers are looking to get back to the Empire 8 Conference Tournament this season. The last time UC made it to the conference tournament was in the 2010-2011 season when they lost to Ithaca in the first round by the score of 76-49. UC went 15-11 overall and 11-5 in conference play in the 2010-2011 season. 

Pioneers All-Access: Make sure to catch live video, audio and stats on Pioneers All-Access: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/ … Audio is provided by WPNR 90.7 FM.

ESPN Broadcast Info:  Select Utica College basketball games will be broadcast on the radio locally at WTLB 99.1 FM/1310 AM (ESPN Radio) by Dave Peroni and UC alum Ray Biggs … Live streaming audio can also be accessed on WTLB's website, www.espnur.com... Fans can also download the free ESPNUR app on their Iphone or Droid device by searching "ESPNUR" in their respective app store.

WPNR Broadcast Info:  Select Utica College home games are also broadcast over the air and online by Utica College's student radio station, WPNR 90.7 FM … Fans can also download the WPNR app by searching WPNR in their respective app store.