UTICA, NY- The Utica College women's basketball team wraps up the week on the road as it travels to Empire 8 opponents Nazareth College on Thursday (6 p.m.) and Elmira College on Saturday (2 p.m.).
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers picked up their first conference win of the season Tuesday afternoon as they downed visiting Alfred University 69-55… Junior Ashelyne Babb (Lynn, MA/Winthrop) led UC with a season-high 25 points...  Babb also recorded a career-best seven steals, to go along with seven assists and seven rebounds…  Classmate Ashley Mayo (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) totaled 16 points for the Pioneers, marking her third straight game with more than ten points… Senior Calypso Carty (Pipersville, PA/Central Bucks West) and sophomore Rachel Hunter (West Islip, NY/West Islip) each totaled eight points, while Nicolette Conkin (Los Altos, CA/Homestead), Alaina Tripp (Clyde, NY/Clyde-Savannah), Marissa Woods (Westampton, NJ/Rancocas Valley), and Maggie Tabone (Rochester, NY/Churchville-Chili) also recorded points…  Tabone also led Utica with nine rebounds, including eight off the defensive glass.
 
LEADING THE WAY: Junior Ashelyne Babb (Lynn, MA/Winthrop) leads the team with 13.0 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game… Babb is also the conference leader in steals per game (3.4) and assists per game (4.6)… Classmate Ashley Mayo (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) is right behind her with 12.8 points and 2.1 assists per game… Mayo has also recorded a team-high 12 three-pointers on the year.
 
HELPING OUT: Sophomore Rachel Hunter (West Islip, NY/West Islip) is third on the team with 8.8 points per game… She has also chipped in with 3.6 boards per contest… Junior Alaina Tripp (Clyde, NY/Clyde-Savannah) is averaging 5.8 points per game, and she is tied for second on the squad with 4.8 rebounds per game, while freshman Nicolette Conkin (Los Altos, CA/Homestead) rounds out the top-five in scoring with 5.3 points per game.
 
SCOUTING NAZ:  The Golden Flyers are one of only two teams without a loss in conference play this season… Naz is currently 6-5 on the year and 2-0 in the E8 with wins over Alfred (88-64) and Houghton (50-47)… Three players are averaging over 10 points per game, led by senior Sam Sorge, who has averaged 19.2 points and 6.8 rebounds in 11 games this season. 
 
AGAINST THE GOLDEN FLYERS: Utica is 4-6 against Naz in the last five years, with three of the Pioneers' losses coming by just one point… Last year, Naz swept the season series, winning 90-76 and 59-55… Ashley Mayo (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) led UC with 27 points in the series, while Ashelyne Babb (Lynn, MA/Winthrop) had 21.
 
SCOUTING ELMIRA: The Soaring Eagles are 3-7 overall and 0-2 in the conference…  They are coming off a 68-53 loss to Stevens last Saturday…  Four players are averaging over 10 points per game, led by junior Danielle Cleary, who has 14.2 points in 10 games played… Sophomore Rachel Vespucci is second on the squad with 12.1 points per game, and she is also averaging 10.3 rebounds per game.
 
AGAINST THE SOARING EAGLES: Utica is 5-5 against Elmira in the last five years… The teams have split the series in each of the last two seasons… Last year UC fell 56-53 at home, before rebounding to knock off the Soaring Eagles 69-63 in Elmira… Rachel Hunter (West Islip, NY/West Islip) totaled a career-high 18 points in the win, while Ashley Mayo (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) had 13 points and Alaina Tripp (Clyde, NY/Clyde-Savannah) had a double-double with 11 points and ten rebounds. 
 
LOOKING AHEAD: Utica will return home Tuesday to welcome St. John Fisher College… Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m.