Utica, NY – The Utica College women's basketball team hosted Misericordia for some non-conference hoops action on Saturday. The Pioneers pulled out the 70-68 win, improving to 3-3 on the season.
UC started the game off on a 10-0 run, fueled by a strong defensive effort. Misericordia was able to climb back into the game, making the score 10-9, with less than three minutes remaining in the first quarter. The Cougars then took a 16-12 lead before the period was over. The visiting team pushed its lead to 13 points thanks to consecutive 3-point shots, with 3:38 before halftime.
Ashelyne Babb (Lynn, MA/Winthrop) scored five points in the final minute of the first half, to cut Misericordia's lead to seven points heading into the break.
An
Ashley Mayo (Bronx, NY/Nanuet) 3-point basket capped off a 9-2 run for Utica early in the third, tying the score up at 39-39 with 7:23 on the clock.
Briannah Florian (Fort Plain, NY/Fort Plain) scored six straight points for the Pioneers towards the end of the quarter, including a buzzer-beater that gave the team a 48-47 lead heading into the fourth. The teams went back and forth scoring, as UC held a one point advantage going into the final three minutes of regulation. Babb tallied seven points in the final stretch of the game to help secure the victory for the Pioneers.
Ashelyne Babb (Lynn, MA/Winthrop) recorded a season-high 24 points to go with five assists and three steals, to lead Utica.
Ashley Mayo (Bronx, NY/Nanuet) and
Briannah Florian (Fort Plain, NY/Fort Plain) also tallied season-high scoring totals, as both players poured in 17 points. Freshman
Brigid Johndrow (Bristol, CT/St. Paul Catholic) finished with a career-high six points, and nailed two clutch free throws in the final moments of the game.
Misericordia was led by Rachel Carmody's 22 points (18 in the second half), on 8-for-13 shooting from the floor. Leanne Forsyth was the only other Cougar to reach double digits, finishing with 12 points (6-for-9 FG) off the bench. Before fouling out late in the game Paige Wampole grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to go with seven points. The loss pushes Misericordia's record down to 1-4 so far this year.
The Pioneers scored a season-high 70 points as a team on the day, with five players producing numbers above their season scoring average. They took good care of the ball in the second half, only committing four turnovers to Misericordia's 10. Utica was rewarded for its aggressive play on offense, and earned a season-high of 32 attempts at the free throw line.
The Pioneers return to action on December 9th, as they head over to SUNY Poly for a cross-town rivalry matchup. The game is set to tip-off at 2 p.m.
