UTICA, NY - The Utica College women's basketball team will look to keep its winning streak alive on Tuesday when the team hosts the SUNY Poly Wildcats at 5 p.m. on Miga Court. 
 
Follow Along: Fans can follow with live video and/or live stats through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. 
 
Last Time Out: Utica handled Cazenovia with an 86-56 road win on November 23. The Pioneers never trailed in the game as the wire-to-wire win started with a 7-0 run that eventually turned into a 27-10 Utica lead by the end of the first quarter. UC maintained control throughout the second quarter thanks to nine points out of Cora Sawyer (New London, CT/New London) to take Utica into halftime ahead 50-24. The Pioneers scored 36 points off of a season high 22 steals which also helped the team create 21 fast break points. Much like the team has done to its previous four opponents, Utica out-rebounded Cazenovia 53-38, 27 of which were offensive boards that helped lead to 17 second chance points. Sydney Przygoda (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) grabbed 13 of the Pioneers' offensive rebounds as well. While Przygoda stood out with her 20 point, 20 rebound double-double, Sawyer also had a fantastic night with a team high 27 points on 9-for-12 shooting as well as eight rebounds, seven assists and six steals. Krissy Geraci (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) recorded 13 points and seven rebounds, Petrina DeMarco (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) totaled 10 points and five steals, and Brigid Johndrow (Bristol, CT/St. Paul Catholic) had team highs with nine assists and seven steals. 
 
Just Win, Baby: At 5-0 through its first five games, the Pioneers are off to the program's best start since beginning the 1984-85 season with an 8-0 record. Utica finished that season 22-4 overall including a perfect 15-0 home record. This year's group has used a balance of high octane offense and shutdown defense to reach its 5-0 start. UC is currently one of 46 remaining unbeaten teams in Division III. 
 
Pounding the Glass: Through the early stages of the season the Pioneers have been one of the best rebounding teams in all of Division III. Utica is currently third in the nation averaging 57.2 rebounds per game while its 26.4 offensive rebounds per game is second in the NCAA as well as its 24.8 rebound margin. Sydney Przygoda (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) leads the team and the Empire 8 with 12 rebounds per game while that mark ties her for 24th in the country. Along with Przygoda, teammates Cora Sawyer (New London, CT/New London), Krissy Geraci (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia), Brigid Johndrow (Bristol, CT/St. Paul Catholic) and Kelsey Carter (Shamong, NJ/Seneca) all have averaged five or more boards per game. 
 
Scoring at Will: Offense has not been hard to come by for Utica as the team finds itself 18th in Division III averaging 80.8 points per game. Backed by 17.4 points per game out of Przygoda, 14 points per game from Sawyer and 10.8 from Geraci, UC has a plethora of able weapons that can put points on the board at any moment. In all, the Pioneers have six different players putting up seven or more points per game on nearly 39 percent shooting. 
 
Not in Our House: Even with its early explosive offense, UC's defense has put opposing offenses on notice thanks to its high intensity defense. Utica is tied for 25th in the nation allowing 48.8 points per game while also holding opponents to 32 percent field goal shooting. A large part of the defense's success has been the ability to force turnovers as the team has 79 steals on the season which is the 21st most in Division III. Johndrow and Sawyer have been the top-two ball hawks on the team as Johndrow is tied for 14th in the nation with 22 steals and Sawyer sits fourth in the E8 with 2.8 steals per game. 
 
About Poly: The Wildcats enter Tuesday 3-1 on the season while having won each of its last three games. The team has averaged 58.5 points per game on 38 percent shooting while opponents have put up just over 51 points per game on the Poly defense. Poly is not prone to shooting the deep ball as the team has averaged only 2.5 made three-point shots per game on an average of 11 looks per outing. Molly Burdick and Kierra Connor have led the Wildcats on offense through four games as Burdick leads the team with 15.3 points per game while Connor has averaged 13 points per game on 50 percent shooting. 
 
Meeting History: UC is 23-14 all-time against its crosstown rival SUNY Poly. However, the Wildcats have gotten the best of the Pioneers as of late by taking the past five meetings. In the last matchup, UC fell to Poly 70-60 in Marcy, NY. Utica's last win over the Wildcats came in 2014 after a 68-38 home win. This will be the first time Utica hosts Poly since the 2018-19 season. 

Up Next: UC travels to Aurora, NY on Wednesday, December 8 for a 6 p.m. game against Wells College.