Utica, NY – The Utica College women's basketball team closes out its three-game road trip on Saturday, against Elmira. This E8 contest will be the last away game for the Pioneers, with tip-off scheduled for 4 p.m.
Last Time Out: UC fell to Hartwick on the road in its last game, 67-63.
Briannah Florian (Fort Plain, NY/Fort Plain) recorded her first double-double of the season, as she led the team with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Ashelyne Babb (Lynn, MA/Winthrop) scored 12 points, while also tallying a season-high of nine assists.
Alaina Tripp (Clyde, NY/Clyde-Savannah) finished with 10 points and nine boards, just one rebound short of a double-double. Freshman
Jeslyn Files (Weedsport, NY/Weedsport) shot 4-for-6 from long range on her way to scoring a career-high 12 points. The Pioneers drop to 8-14 overall and 4-9 in Empire 8 competition after the loss.
Hot off the Bench: Over the past three games, the freshmen duo of
Kimberly Soriano (Queens, NY/Monsignor McClancey Memorial) and
Jeslyn Files (Weedsport, NY/Weedsport) have found a rhythm coming off the bench. During this three-game stretch, both have scored career-highs and have shot a combined 13-for-25 from 3-point territory. Soriano notched her career-high of nine points against Sage, shooting 3-for-6 from deep. Prior to Files reaching a new career-high in the most recent game against Hartwick, she put up 11 points (3-for-5 3-pt) in just the first half in the win over Houghton. Look for these two long-range bombers to continue their hot streak as the season winds down.
Chasing 1,000: Senior guard
Ashelyne Babb (Lynn, MA/Winthrop) is on her way to 1,000 points for her career, and is now just 32 points away from reaching that milestone. With just three games left in the season, Babb has the opportunity to become the 13th player in program history to score 1,000 career points. She is averaging 11.7 points per game this season, and has scored 29 points combined over the last two games.
Scouting Elmira: The Soaring Eagles of Elmira are sitting at an overall record of 12-9 and are 4-8 in conference play. The team lost to Nazareth, 60-49, in its last contest. Lauren Franklin came up shy of a double-double, finishing with 15 points and nine rebounds in the loss. Lindsey Heaton recorded 10 points and five assists, while teammate Rachel Vespucci tallied nine points and eight boards. Danielle Cleary is Elmira's top scorer on the year and is sixth in the Empire 8 in scoring, averaging 14.6 points per game. Vespucci is third in the conference, snagging nine rebounds per game. Heaton averages 4.5 assists per game on the season, which leads the E8.
Against Elmira: The first time these two teams met this season, the Pioneers took the win by a score of 62-53.
Brigid Johndrow (Bristol, CT/St. Paul Catholic) scored a career-high 12 points, to help lead UC to victory.
Alaina Tripp (Clyde, NY/Clyde-Savannah) and
Briannah Florian (Fort Plain, NY/Fort Plain) combined for 22 points and 13 rebounds.
Ashley Mayo (Bronx, NY/Nanuet) played all 40 minutes of the contest, finishing with 11 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and no turnovers. Utica took better care of the ball in the game, only turning it over eight times compared to Elmira's 19 turnovers. The Soaring Eagles were led by Emily Green's game-high 15 points in the loss. Lindsey Heaton finished with eight points, 10 boards, and six assists in the contest. Sally Hogan contributed 10 points and eight rebounds coming off the bench. UC looks to sweep the season series against Elmira this weekend.
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers return home on February 16th, as they play host to Alfred University. This conference matchup is set to commence at 8 p.m.
