UTICA, NY – The Utica College women's basketball team is set to open its Empire 8 Conference slate with a 7:30 p.m. home matchup against The Sage Colleges on Tuesday.

Last Time Out: The Pioneers fell in an intense matchup with Union College on Friday afternoon to close out its nonconference campaign, 72-62. Senior Nicolette Conkin (Los Altos, CA/Homestead) led the squad on offense with a team-best 20 points, which she paired with six assists. The guard went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. Standout Sydney Przygoda (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) was close behind with a near double-double on 17 points and nine rebounds, while she went 5-for-7 on free throws. Matching her efforts on the boards was Brigid Johndrow (Bristol, CT/St. Paul Catholic) who also grabbed nine rebounds while collecting 11 points. Johndrow was equally impressive at the charity stripe, going a perfect 4-for-4.

How it stacks up: UC currently ranks fourth in the Empire 8 before Tuesday's contest with its 7-4 record, while Sage ranks sixth at 4-7. Hartwick leads the conference with a 7-5 record, owning the only E8 win thus far, having taken down Elmira 61-39 on Saturday.

Empire 8 Leaders: Przygoda continues to lead the conference in points (225), points per game (20.5) and field goals made per game (8.6), while ranking third in rebounds per game (11.0). The sophomore looks to remain in the top-10 in the nation in field goal percentage with a mark of .65, while ranked in the top-25 in points per game. She ranks third in rebounds per game, averaging 10.8. Conkin leads the E8 in assists per game with 6.7 and steals per game with 3.5, with a total of 38 steals on the season. She also ranks third in points per game with 15.91.

Helping Out: Johndrow has been strong on both ends on the court, proving lethal at the free throw line, going 21-for-25. She has collected 89 points, averaging 8.1 per game, while collecting 50 rebounds and causing 18 turnovers.

Scouting Sage: The Gators moved to 4-7 on the season, falling to Suffolk University 88-79 on Saturday. The duo of Kaitlyn Bowman (33) and Jennie-Rose DiCecco (30) each posted 30-plus points in the loss. Bowman, whose 33 points proved to be an E8 season best, went 11-for-15 on free throws. Sophomore Sammy Pasinella leads the squad in scoring, averaging 12.6 points per game. On defense, Megan Flynn leads in rebounds per game with 11.4, while tying with Gessica Patregnani for first in blocks per game with .6. Patregnani ranks first in steals per game with 1.4.

Series History: The Pioneers have taken on the Gators 21 times since December 1991, owning a 16-5 overall record. The conference competitors last met on Feb. 5, 2019, as UC used a home court advantage to claim a narrow 84-82 victory after trailing through the first three quarters. It was a Conkin made three that gave the squad the two point lead with five seconds remaining on the clock. The now-senior recorded her first-ever double-double on 25 points and 12 assists in the win.

Up Next: UC continues to battle in the E8, hosting Elmira College at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The Pioneers will then travel to Hartwick for a 4 p.m. start time on Saturday.