Utica, NY – The Utica College women's basketball team has two away contests this upcoming weekend. The Pioneers face Nazareth on Friday for an 8 p.m. tip-off, before playing St. John Fisher at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Last Time Out: UC is coming off of a 57-51 win over Alfred University in its last contest.
Ashley Mayo (Bronx, NY/Nanuet) led the way with her game-high 23 points and eight rebounds.
Ashelyne Babb (Lynn, MA/Winthrop) finished with 10 points and eight boards, while
Briannah Florian (Fort Plain, NY/Fort Plain) added 11 points of her own. The team improved to 7-9 overall and 3-4 in E8 play after the win.
Mayo's Milestone: After putting up 23 points in the last game, senior
Ashley Mayo (Bronx, NY/Nanuet) is drawing near the 1,000-point mark for her career. Mayo is now just 17 points away from becoming the 12th player in program-history to reach 1,000 career points. She is averaging 14.5 points per game this season, which ranks sixth in the Empire 8 in scoring, and has posted double-digit points in 14 consecutive games.
Closing Out the Road Trip: This weekend marks the end of Utica's four-game road trip, as the team returns for some home action next Tuesday. The Pioneers went 1-1 last weekend to start this stretch of games away from home. The team fell to Houghton, 65-51, in the first contest of the road trip before defeating Alfred in game two. With a current away record of 2-5 this season, UC looks to improve upon that for a strong finish to this stretch away from the home court.
Conference Standings: The Pioneers are sporting a 3-4 record against Empire 8 opponents at this point in the year. This mark currently has the team sitting in a tie for fifth place (With Nazareth) in the conference standings. The full E8 standings are as follows: 1. St. John Fisher (7-1 E8), 2. Sage (6-1 E8), 3. Houghton (6-3 E8), 4. Stevens (5-4 E8), 5. Nazareth & Utica (3-4 E8), 6. Hartwick (2-4 E8), 7. Elmira (2-5 E8), 8. Alfred (0-8 E8). UC, just two games out of the fourth spot, has nine games remaining on the schedule to fight for a slot in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament.
Scouting Nazareth: The Golden Flyers are holding onto a 7-9 overall record, and are 3-4 in conference competition this season. The team fell to Elmira in its last game, with the final score reading 66-62. Rachel Benedict went 10-for-19 from the floor, as she finished with 26 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Samantha Peebles tallied 20 points and seven boards in the loss. Peebles not only leads Nazareth in scoring, but her average of 20.3 points per game is first in the Empire 8. Benedict is not far behind, ranking fourth in the conference with an average of 15.1 points per game.
Scouting Fisher: The Cardinals are currently 12-5 overall and 7-1 within the Empire 8. The team is riding a five-game win streak, after defeating Houghton 68-58 in its last game. Erin Hulbert led the way with 17 points, six assists, and five rebounds for Fisher. Nicole Robinson recorded 15 points and five blocks off the bench, while Liga Kalnina snagged a game-high 13 boards. Caroline Robertson leads the team with an average of 13.1 points per game this season. Hulbert grabs 8.5 rebounds per game, which ranks fourth in the E8.
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers will be back home on January 30th to play Nazareth College once more. The game is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.
