The Utica College women's basketball team prepares for a two-game Empire 8 conference road trip this week … The Pioneers will first travel to Ithaca this Thursday to take on the Bombers at 6 p.m. … Then Utica will travel to Stevens Saturday to take on the Ducks at 2 p.m. 
 
Last Time Out: In their last game, the Pioneers lost at home against Houghton College, 65-61 … The Pioneers drop to 5-11 overall and 3-4 in the Empire 8 … The Highlanders outscored Utica 23-12 in the fourth quarter to hand Utica its second straight home loss … Junior Ashley Mayo (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) matched her season-high of 20 points and had three steals in the contest … Calypso Carty (Pipersville, PA/Central Bucks West) recorded 13 points and four rebounds, while Ashelyne Babb (Lynn, MA/Winthrop) had 10 points, three steals, six rebounds, and a game-high six assists.
 
Mayo Putting Up Points: Ashley Mayo (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) still leads the Pioneers in scoring with an average of 14.1 points per game … Mayo is currently ranked sixth in the Empire 8 in scoring … She has scored double digit points in 13 of the team's 16 games so far … She has scored 13 or more points in six consecutive games for UC.
 
Freshmen Making Plays: Freshman Marissa Woods (Westampton, NJ/Rancocas Valley) posted a career-high eight points against Houghton, making two 3-point shots in the contest … Nicolette Conkin (Los Altos, CA/Homestead) recorded a career-high of eight rebounds in the game against Houghton.   
 
Babb Stuffs the Stat Sheet: Ashelyne Babb (Lynn, MA/Winthrop) is second on the team and tenth in the Empire 8 in scoring with an average of 12.9 points per game … Babb also leads the team in rebounding, assists, steals, and blocks … She averages 6.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 3.3 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game … Babb currently ranks first in assists and steals in the Empire 8.
 
Scouting Ithaca: The Ithaca Bombers are 13-3 overall and 5-2 in the Empire 8 Conference … The Bombers defeated Elmira, 98-54, in their last contest … Junior Jordan Beers recorded a game-high 23 points, going 8-for-10 from the floor, and shot 4-for-4 from 3-point range … Ithaca leads the Empire 8 in scoring, averaging 74.3 points per game … Ithaca also has the conference's best turnover margin (8.88), scoring margin (16.4), and field goal percentage (41.8%) … Ali Ricchiuti is the leading scorer as she has averages 11.1 points this season … Erin Ferguson leads the team in rebounding with 5.8 boards per game as well as averaging 10.9 points per game.
 
Scouting Stevens: The Stevens Ducks are currently 8-7 overall and 7-1 in the Empire 8 Conference … The Ducks defeated St. John Fisher in their last contest, 81-68, to extend their winning streak to five games … In the contest, Kaitlyn Astel led all scorers with 36 points on 13-for-17 shooting … Megan Brown and Anna Toke each added 13 points for Stevens in the win … Stevens currently has the top ranked defense in the Empire 8, allowing only 55.2 per game … The Ducks also are ranked first in rebounding in the conference, averaging 44.9 rebounds per game … Astel leads the team in scoring and is ranked second in the Empire 8 with her average of 17.5 points per game … Brown leads the team in rebounding and is ranked second in the conference averaging 10.2 boards per game.
 
Against the Bombers: The Pioneers' last victory against the Bombers came on Feb. 27, 2010 in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament … Utica College graduate Jessica Berry netted the game-winning layup as the buzzer sounded to give the Pioneers a 38-37 win over top-seeded Ithaca … This victory earned the Pioneers an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament … In the last matchup between these two teams Ithaca earned the win with a score of 71-44 … Alaina Tripp (Clyde, NY/Clyde-Savannah) led the Pioneers in scoring in the contest, finishing with 10 points and five rebounds.   
 
Against the Ducks: The Pioneers last defeated Stevens during the 2012-2013 season … UC earned the victory with a score of 59-53, as two different players on the team recorded a double-double in the contest … Utica last played Stevens at home earlier this season … Unfortunately the Pioneers lost that game, 71-53 … Ashley Mayo (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) led Utica in scoring with 13 points in the game while Babb added seven points, six rebounds, and four steals.
 
Looking Ahead: After the two road games against conference opponents, Utica will return home on February 2^nd to take on Empire 8 rival Nazareth College (7-9 overall, 3-4 E8) … Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m.