UTICA, NY- The Utica college women's basketball team opens up Empire 8 Conference play this weekend as it travels to Sage on Friday (5 p.m.) before heading to Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip off.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers are coming off a 71-59 loss at Union College on Sunday… Freshman Sydney Przygoda (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) led Utica with 18 points and 11 rebounds… Junior Nicolette Conkin (Los Altos, CA/Homestead) chipped in with 11 points and Brigid Johndrow (Bristol, CT/St. Paul Catholic) added eight.
 
LEADING THE WAY: Freshman Sydney Przygoda (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) leads the Empire 8 Conference with 12.7 rebounds per game… She is one of only three players averaging over 10 rebounds per game and she also ranks sixth in the conference with 14.7 points per game… Przygoda has collected four straight double-doubles and six total on the season… She also leads UC with five blocks so far.
 
HELPING OUT: Sophomore Brigid Johndrow (Bristol, CT/St. Paul Catholic) ranks second on the squad with 11.8 points per game and she also has a team-high 19 steals… Junior Nicolette Conkin (Los Altos, CA/Homestead) is third on the team in scoring with 10.7 points per game and she leads the Pioneers with 41 assists, followed by Johndrow (36).
 
ROUNDING OUT THE TOP FIVE: Senior Briannah Florian (Fort Plain, NY/Fort Plain) and freshman Petrina DeMarco (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) round out Utica's starters… Florian is averaging 7.3 points and 5.3 boards per game to go along with her four blocks this season… DeMarco has averaged 5.2 points per game and she is second on the team with nine 3-pointers.
 
SCOUTING SAGE: The Gators are 5-4 overall and they are coming off a pair of losses to Washington & Jefferson (75-61) and Widener (68-51) before the break… Senior Emily Parslow leads Sage with 15.2 points per game… This will be the first ever conference meeting between the two teams as Sage is in its first year of Empire 8 competition… The Gators are currently leading the conference with an average of 69.1 points per game, but they have also given up 71.8 points per game this year, the most in the E8… Utica, which is averaging 61.7 points per game will look to exploit the Sage defense, while the Pioneers will hope to shutdown the conference's best offense.
 
SCOUTING STEVENS: The Ducks are also off to a 5-4 start and will take on Elmira College on Friday before facing the Pioneers on Saturday… Stevens is led by freshman Jess Broad, who is averaging 16.4 points per game, and graduate student Anna Toke, who is one of only three players in the conference averaging a double-double per game.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: The Pioneers will remain on the road next weekend as they travel to Alfred and Houghton… Friday's game time against the Saxons will be at 5:30, while Saturday's contest against the Highlanders is scheduled for 2 p.m.