UTICA, NY- The Utica College women's basketball team will take part in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament for the first time since 2011, after securing the third-seed. The Pioneers will tip-off against No. 2 seeded The Sage Colleges Gators on Friday at 7:30 p.m., hosted by St. John Fisher College.
 
Pioneers against Gators in 2020: UC has played Sage twice this season, falling in close battles both times. The first matchup took place at Miga Court on January 7, as the hosts fell by a score of 71-66. Senior Nicolette Conkin (Los Altos, CA/Homestead) led the team in points with 27 points. Sydney Przygoda (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) and Kimberly Soriano (Queens, NY/Monsignor McClancy Memorial) both posted nine points for a combined 18. Pryzgoda grabbed 9 rebounds, while Soriano pulled in 7 defensive boards. Under the basket, Pryzgoda helped the Pioneers score 15 second chance points with her 4 offensive rebounds.
 
The Pioneers took on the Gators more recenctly, on February 22, and fell by a 15-point margin (80-65). Conkin and Pryzgoda combined for 35 points. The former paired team-bests in points and assists for her third double-double of the season, with marks of 18 and 11, respectively. She also added four steals to the stat sheet.  Pryzgoda was strong on both ends of the court, also collecting a double-double with her 17 points and 11 rebounds. The Freehold, NJ native shot 6-of-14 from the field and racked up three assists and two steals.
 
Tournament History for the Pioneers: UC has not made the E8's since the 2010-2011 season when they fell to top-seeded Ithaca College, who has since left the conference. In the 2009-10 season the Pioneers won both games in the E8 Conference Tournament to claim the title and automatic berth into the NCAA DIII Tournament. In the opening round they took down Moravian College in a thrilling come-from-behind victory, 64-61. Heading into the contest Moravian was on a 20-game win streak and was nationally-ranked. UC was eventually brought down by Gettysburg College, 71-55, in the round of 32.
 
Road Map to Success: The Pioneers finished above .500 in the Empire 8 for the first time in 9 years. They were able to go 8-6 in the Empire 8 and finish 15-10 overall, not losing more than two consecutive contests all season. Utica locked up the third seed after beating out Hartwick and Nazareth in a three-way tie. It topped Hartwick thanks to a regular season sweep of the Hawks, while overcoming Naz with props to splitting in the regular season.
 
The Dynamic Duo: Conkin and Pryzgoda have shown their presence all season long across every stat line. The two teammates on average combine for 35 points. Both are way up in the shot counts, Pryzgoda taking 322 shots on the year while sinking 56 percent of them. Conkin is shooting .37 percent, having put up 422 shots.
 
Flying Under the Radar: Brigid Johndrow (Bristol, CT/St. Paul Catholic), who was named the E8 Athlete of the Week on Feb. 10, has amassed 235 points and 94 assists. She was stellar in the contest with Alfred on Feb. 8^th, as she went 5-for-8 from the 3-point line, collecting a second-best 17 points.  Petrina DeMarco (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) is currently averaging double-digits in points. DeMarco is averaging 11.9 points a game with four rebounds to go with it. The Whitesboro, NY native leads her team behind the arc, sinking 63 three-point buckets on 173 attempts, for an impressive .364 three-point percentage
 
Making the Big Show: The winner of this matchup will take on the winner of the 5:30 p.m. contest between No. 1 St. John Fisher and No. 4 Hartwick, at 4 p.m. on Saturday in the Empire 8 Title game. The victorious squad in Saturday's bout will be crowned the Empire 8 Champions and will receive the Conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.