UTICA, NY - The Utica College women's basketball team will look to end its three-game losing skid this weekend as the team travels to Houghton, NY on Friday to face Houghton College at 5:30 p.m. and Alfred, NY on Saturday to battle Alfred University at 2 p.m.
 
Follow Along: Fans can go to https://portal.stretchinternet.com/houghton/ on Friday and https://portal.stretchinternet.com/alfred/ on Saturday for live video and stats. 
 
Last Time Out: Utica's 15-game regular season home winning streak was snapped over the weekend in back-to-back losses to conference foes Nazareth College and nationally ranked St. John Fisher College. On Friday, the Golden Flyers upset the Pioneers 67-62 for the Pioneers' first loss at home since Jan. 17, 2020. Sophomore forward Krissy Geraci (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) had herself a career game, tallying 19 points and 18 rebounds in the loss. Her 18 boards are tied for the third most by an Empire 8 player in a single game this season. Senior Petrina DeMarco (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and graduate student Brigid Johndrow (Bristol, CT/St. Paul Catholic) had 15 and 14 points respectively in the loss. During Saturday's senior day, St. John Fisher defeated Utica 69-39. Petrina DeMarco (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) led Utica with 11 points while shooting 50 percent from three, and recording a game-high four steals.
 
Conference Outlook: The Pioneers are currently fourth in the Empire 8 with an 18-5 (9-5 Empire 8) overall record. The nationally ranked St. John Fisher Cardinals (22-2, 14-1 Empire 8) currently hold the number one spot in the conference, followed by Hartwick College (16-6, 11-3 Empire 8) in second and Nazareth College (15-8, 10-4 Empire 8) rounding out the top three. The remaining five teams in the conference are all either .500 or below in the conference and overall. Each of the four aforementioned teams have all clinched a spot in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament with Fisher having won the regular season title, securing home court in the tournament, and Utica clinching the fourth-seed which means hosting the No. 4 vs. No. 5 opening round game next Tuesday, February 22. The Pioneers will either host Sage or Alfred University in the game. 
 
All-Around DeMarco: Senior guard Petrina Demarco's experience has been on full display this year and was once again this past weekend. DeMarco recorded three steals against Nazareth on Friday and four steals against nationally ranked St. John Fisher on Saturday to help bring her steals per game total to two, good enough for eighth in the Empire 8. Another aspect of her game is shooting the three ball. Currently, DeMarco is fourth in the Empire 8 in both three-point percentage (32.9), three-point field goals per game (2.1) and three-point shots made (48).
 
Taketh and Giveth: Two areas Utica has done exceptionally well in this season have been not only taking the ball away, but finding open teammates for scoring opportunities as well. As a whole, the team is first in the conference in assists per game (17.0), fewest fouls (251), steals (277), steals per game (12.0), turnovers forced (21.74) and are also fourth nationally in personal fouls per game (10.9). Brigid Johndrow (Bristol, CT/St. Paul Catholic) currently leads the E8 in assists per game (5.0), total assists (116), assist/turnover ratio (1.5), while the Pioneers have four of the top ten in steals per game. Johndrow (2.7) is second, Sydney Przygoda (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) (2.3) is fifth, Petrina DeMarco (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) (2.0) is eighth and Cora Sawyer (New London, CT/New London) (1.9) is ninth.
 
Core Three: Through 23 games played, UC's Cora Sawyer (New London, CT/New London), Petrina DeMarco (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Brigid Johndrow (Bristol, CT/St. Paul Catholic) are the three players on the Pioneers who have both started and played in each of the team's contests. Each of the girls have been key members of the success of the program dating back to the 2018-2019 season, where they all played together for the first time. The Pioneers are 6-0 this season when one of these three score at least 20 points.
 
Scouting Houghton: The Highlanders are currently second to last in the Empire 8 with an overall record of 9-14 (3-11 Empire 8). Houghton is led by freshman Amanda Jackson (11.4 points per game) and junior Alexis Klohr (10.1 points per game). Utica is currently riding a four-game winning streak against Houghton, in which the team scored exactly 68 points in the previous three matchups. The last time the two teams played was on Jan. 22, 2022, where the Pioneers defeated the Highlanders 68-55. Utica is 8-9 all-time against Houghton and will look to even the all-time record this Friday.
 
Analyzing Alfred: The Saxons currently have an overall record of 11-12 (6-8 Empire 8), which makes them still mathematically eligible for the Empire 8 Conference Tournament. Alfred will need to win its final two games and have Sage drop its last pair in order to clinch the fifth-seed. Alfred is led by junior Ana Ion (10.1 points per game, 8.3 rebounds per game) and senior Gillian Flint, whose 2.4 steals per game is third in the conference. The last time the two teams played was on Jan. 21, 2022, where the Pioneers defeated the Saxons 60-54 in overtime. Utica is 36-7 all-time against Alfred University.
 
A Look Ahead: Utica will host the opening round game of the Empire 8 Conference Tournament against either Russell Sage or Alfred. All other information is TBD.