UTICA, NY – The Utica College women's basketball team is gearing up for a weekend of Empire 8 Conference competition, kicking off in a 7:30 p.m. home contest with Elmira College on Friday. Saturday will feature a road contest at Hartwick College, slated for a 4 p.m. tip-off.

Last Time Out: The Pioneers dropped a narrow five point decision to The Sage Colleges to open up E8 play on Tuesday evening, 71-66, despite a chance to tie it up with 12 seconds remaining in the contest. Senior Nicolette Conkin (Los Altos, CA/Homestead) led the offensive charge, posting team-bests in points (27), assists (8) and steals (3). Underclassmen Sydney Przygoda (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) and Kimberly Soriano (Queens, NY/Monsignor McClancy Memorial) each added nine points apiece, with the former adding nine rebounds and the latter seven. Freshman Kristine Miller (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook) had four blocks and six points.

Empire 8 Leaders: Przygoda continues to maintain her dominance in the conference, leading the points (234), points per game (19.5), field goal percentage (.653) and field goals made (96) categories. She also ranks third in rebounds per game (10.7) and made free throws (42). Conkin holds down the lead in assists (82), assists per game (6.8), steals (41) and steals per game (3.4).The guard also ranks second in field goals made (73) and third in points per game (16.8).

Pioneers Making Noise: The duo of Przygoda and Conkin also found themselves on the nation's leader boards heading into this week's contests. Przygoda's field goal percentage of .648 had her ranked fifth, which she should easily maintain with her current mark of .653. Conkin entered the week ranked sixth in assists with 74 and tied for 24th in steals with 38. 

Helping Out: Miller's strength on defense continues to show in the books. She currently ranks fourth in the conference in both blocks (15) and blocks per game (1.3). Her marks are good enough to lead the squad.

Scouting Elmira: The Soaring Eagles are 2-9 after falling to St. Lawrence University 73-55 on Monday. The Empire 8 Rookie of the Week Taylor Johnson led the squad in scoring with 11 points, while contributing three rebounds and three assists. She ranks second on the team overall in points with 82. Following close behind on the stat sheet was Bridget Yaw with 8 points, two rebounds and two assists. Yaw ties for first on the team in assists with 22 and is third in points with 80.

Soaring Eagles' Series History: UC is 29-28 in its all-time series with Elmira, including a 17-12 at home record. The Pioneers defeated the Soaring Eagles 76-51 on Feb. 19, 2019 to close out the season. Junior Brigid Johndrow (Bristol, CT/St. Paul Catholic) came up big in the contest, narrowly missing a triple-double on 19 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

Scouting Hartwick: The Hawks are currently atop the E8 standings with a 1-0 conference record, 7-5 overall. They will play The Sage Colleges in a 7:30 p.m. contest on Friday. Most recently Hartwick took down Elmira 61-39 to open its conference slate. In the victory Giuliana Pritchard posted a monstrous double-double on 20 points, 14 rebounds, while adding two blocks and one assist. Pritchard leads the squad in rebounds with 104, ranking second in points with 151. Trailing close behind was Mary Schoenherr with 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists and one block. She currently ranks second on the team in rebounds with 99. With one year of eligibility remaining, the junior now ties for ninth in program history with a career total 297 assists.

Hawks' Series History: Hartwick continues to prove its dominance in the E8, the reigning Champions own a 36-18 all-time series lead over Utica. The pair last met on Jan. 22, 2019, when the Hawks came away with an 89-77 road win. Conkin had a career-best 17 assists while Soriano posted 17 points with an impressive five made treys.

Up Next: Utica will return home next Friday to host St. John Fisher College in a 7:30 p.m. Empire 8 Conference contest.