UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's basketball team will host the Russell Sage College Gators at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 22 in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament opening round. 
 
Hope to See You There: Admission for Tuesday night's contest will be $6 for adults, $4 for seniors and students with a valid college identification and free for children 12 and under. 
 
Follow Along: Those unable to attend to watch via live video or keep up with live stats through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. 
 
Last Time Out: Utica went 1-1 this weekend as the team closed out the regular season with a win at Houghton College on Friday and a tough loss at Alfred University on Saturday. In the 51-42 win over Houghton on Friday, Brigid Johndrow (Bristol, CT/St. Paul Catholic) recorded a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double while Petrina DeMarco (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) led the unit with 13 points. The Pioneers held the Highlanders to 18 points in the second half including five in the fourth quarter. Against Alfred on Saturday, Utica had a 54-44 lead entering the fourth quarter. However, the Saxons took control of the fourth quarter, going on to out-score the Pioneers 22-2 over the final 10 minutes to ultimately take the contest 66-56. Johndrow (14), Krissy Geraci (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) (12) and DeMarco (11) recorded double digit points for Utica while Julia Rotando (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) led the team with nine rebounds off the bench. 
 
Tournament Field: After a 10-6 Empire 8 record, the Pioneers earned the fourth-seed in the tournament while Sage's 8-8 conference mark netted it the fifth-seed. St. John Fisher will host the tournament as the top-seed after finishing 15-1 in league play. Hartwick College will be the second-seed, entering the semifinals with a 13-3 Empire 8 record while its opponent, Nazareth College, enters the field as the third-seed with an 11-5 E8 mark. 
 
Milestone Watch: With a win over Sage, the Pioneers can reach the 20-win mark for the first time since the 2009-2010 season as the team recorded 22 victories that season. With its current 19 wins, Utica has the winningest season since the 2009-10 team. 
 
Jack of All Trades: Brigid Johndrow (Bristol, CT/St. Paul Catholic) has done everything and more for the Pioneers this season. The guard has put together 9.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, five assists and 2.6 steals per game over all 25 games this season. In fact, her five assists per game tops the Empire 8 while her 1.5 assist/turnover ratio and steals per game mark are second in the conference. The graduate student has also been one of the most efficient free-throw shooters in the conference as she ranks eighth in the E8 shooting 71.6 percent from the line. 
 
Fire Away: Petrina DeMarco (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) hasn't shied away from shooting the deep ball this season. In fact, her 168 three-point attempts are the third most amongst qualified shooters in the Empire 8 while her 32.1 three-point percentage is fourth in the E8. On the season, DeMarco has averaged 10.3 points and leads the team with 250 total shot attempts from the floor. 
 
Scouting Sage: The Gators (12-13, 8-8 E8) secured its tournament berth on the final day of the regular season this past Saturday with a 66-50 win at Keuka. The team has also taken three out of its last four games with the only blemish being a one-point loss to Elmira College on Feb. 18. The Gators own a 4-7 record away from Kahl Gym in Albany, NY and have lost five of their last six games on the road. The Empire 8's fifth-ranked scoring offense is led by Syrita Faraj who's fourth in the conference netting 13.5 points per game while teammate Sammy Pasinella is eighth in the E8 averaging 12.2 points per contest. 
 
Previous Battles: The Pioneers own a two-game winning streak over the Gators after taking both games between the teams this year. On Jan. 18, Utica downed Sage on the road 80-71 thanks to 15-plus points from DeMarco, Johndrow and Sydney Przygoda (Freehold, NJ/Freehold). Cora Sawyer (New London, CT/New London) (14) and Geraci (10) also reached double figures in points as those five combined for 78 of Utica's 80 points. Pasinella also scored 29 points for Sage that evening. The teams met again less than two weeks later on Jan. 29 at Miga Court. The Pioneers held on for the tightly contested 55-54 win in what was a defensive battle between the teams. Neither side shot above 40 percent from the field or 27 percent from three; however, Sawyer still commanded the offense with a 20-point outing. Although the Gators scored to go down by one with 1:13 to play, neither team was able to put the ball through the hoop over the final minute to allow Utica to hang on for the one-point win. 

Up Next: With a win, Utica would advance to the Empire 8 semifinals against top-seeded St. John Fisher at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 25.