Utica, NY – The Utica College women's basketball team begins its four-game road trip on Friday against Houghton College, as the team will then face Alfred on Saturday. Friday's contest is set to begin at 8 p.m., while Saturday's matchup begins at 4 p.m.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers fell to Sage at home in their last contest, with the final score reading 72-65.
Ashelyne Babb (Lynn, MA/Winthrop) led UC with 18 points and a career-high of nine steals.
Ashley Mayo (Bronx, NY/Nanuet) contributed 16 points and four assists, while freshman
Brigid Johndrow (Bristol, CT/St. Paul Catholic) poured in 11 points.
Alaina Tripp (Clyde, NY/Clyde-Savannah) finished with 10 points and seven rebounds for the team. Utica is now 6-8 overall this season and hold an in-conference record of 2-3.
Mayo Nears Milestone: Senior guard
Ashley Mayo (Bronx, NY/Nanuet) has a total of 950 points in her career, and is steadily approaching the 1,000 point milestone for her career. Mayo is the team's leading scorer this season, averaging 14.2 points per game. She has reached double-digit points in 12 consecutive games so far and is ranked seventh in the Empire 8 in scoring. Mayo eclipsing the 1,000 point mark would make her the 12th player in program history to do so.
Road Trip: Friday kicks off a four game road trip for the Pioneers, as they do not return to play at home until January 30th. The team faces Houghton and Alfred this weekend for two away Empire 8 contests. Following the weekend, UC prepares to travel for another Friday/Saturday set of games. The team is scheduled to face Nazareth on January 26th, before heading to St. John Fisher on the 27th to close out the road trip. Currently 1-4 on the road this season, the Pioneers will look to put it all together and pull out some important wins away from home.
Scouting Houghton: The Highlanders are sitting at a record of 8-7 overall and 4-2 against Empire 8 opponents. In the team's last game, it fell to Nazareth with the final score reading 73-60. Brittany Lenart was Houghton's top scorer in the contest, finishing with 13 points and six rebounds. Emily Swanson tallied 10 points and six boards, while teammate Leslie Moose added nine points and eight rebounds. Lenart leads the Highlanders with an average of 10.9 points per game this season. Moose come's down with a team-best 5.9 rebounds per game, while Cori Beck's 3.9 assists per game also leads the team.
Scouting Alfred: The Saxons are holding an overall record of 2-12, while going 0-6 in conference play. The team extended its losing streak to seven games, after falling to E8 opponent Elmira by a score of 76-71. Amanda Figueroa had a strong performance, leading Alfred with a game-high 27 points (8-for-14 FG), seven rebounds, and six steals. Teammate Katlyn Boland earned an impressive stat line of 11 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and four steals in the loss. Jamie Wilcox is the top scorer for the Saxons, as she ranks fourth in the Empire 8 with an average of 14.4 points per game. Boland's average of 3.7 assists per game, is tops on the team and ranks sixth in the conference.
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers will be on the road again next Friday, as they travel to face Nazareth College. This E8 matchup is set to tip-off at 8 p.m.
