Utica, NY - The Utica College women's basketball team opens up its season this Saturday hosting the SUNY Delhi Broncos at 2 p.m.

Roster Blueprint: Utica will welcome five new faces to its roster this season, all of which are freshmen: Emily Allard (Fletcher, VT/Bellows Free Academy), Kaitlyn Furner (Hubbardsville, NY/Sherburne-Earlville), Julia Rotando (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane), Cassie Chalon (Norwich, NY/Cato-Meridian) and Kristine Miller (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook). The rest of the team is very evenly distributed when it comes to experience, as this year's team showcases four sophomores, three juniors and three seniors.

The Big Three: The Pioneers only graduated four seniors from last year's roster and return a wealth of talent this season, including their top three scorers. Sophomore Sydney Przygoda (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) headlines this returning class, as she finished her freshman campaign averaging a double-double with a team-high 14.3 points and a conference-best 11.9 rebounds per game. Senior Nicolette Conkin (Los Altos, CA/Homestead) served as the facilitator for the Pioneers, finishing the season with a team-high 130 assists while also averaging just over 12 points per game. Conkin's success in distributing the ball landed her the No. 2 overall Empire 8 spot in assists. Junior Brigid Johndrow (Bristol, CT/St. Paul Catholic) was also an integral part of the Pioneer's backcourt, as she posted 9.6 points per game and finished the season with 111 assists.

Defensive Specialist: While Conkin had a great year offensively, she also posted a team-high 42 steals as well.

Block Party: Przygoda also finished last season with 10 blocks, which was good enough for second-most on the roster.

All-Conference: Przygoda and Conkin were both named to all-conference teams last season. Conkin received her first-career all-conference honors as an honorable mention, while Przygoda earned second-team all-conference.

Ball Movement: Utica led the Empire 8 in assists last season, totaling 400 over the course of 25 games while averaging 16 per game.

Last Season: The 2018-2019 Pioneers finished the season with a 9-16 overall record while going 4-12 in the Empire 8.

Inaugural Matchup: This marks the first time in program history Utica will play SUNY Delhi.

Scouting Delhi: The Broncos tabbed an 11-13 overall record last season in their fourth year as a program. Delhi did not roster a single senior last season, so they will return for the 2019-2020 season with a much more experienced team.

Up Next: Utica has a quick, two-day break before hosting SUNY Potsdam on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. in the Brooks Miles & Staff Appreciation Game.