UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's basketball team begins a two game road trip this week. The team begins by facing Houghton University on Friday, January 20 at 5:30 p.m. before clashing with Medaille University on Saturday, January 21 at 2 p.m.
 
Follow Along: Houghton will provide live video/and or stats via https://bit.ly/2xy5ERx. Medaille will provide live video through https://bit.ly/3rQukjQ and live stats via https://bit.ly/3XjpqtQ. 
 
Last Time Out: The team beat Alfred University 59-53 on Saturday afternoon to notch its third Empire 8 victory of the season. McKenzie Simmons (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook) continued her scorching start to her Pioneer career as she dropped a career-high 21 points on 5-for-10 shooting from beyond the arc. The freshman also corralled eight rebounds with two blocks. Veteran Kimberly Soriano (Queens, NY/Monsignor McClancy Memorial) dropped nine points with seven rebounds and Petrina DeMarco (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) poured in eight points with four rebounds. Hope Halvarson (Cranston, RI/Cranston East) turned in one of her best games this season with six points, two rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Krissy Geraci (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) continued to leave an impact on both ends of the floor as she scored six points with eight rebounds, three assists, and a season-high three blocks. Utica's offense started out hot as buckets by McKenzie Simmons (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook), Petrina DeMarco (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), and Krissy Geraci (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) put the team up 6-0 with 6:45 left in the first quarter. Alfred rallied to tie the game at 6-6 before a pair of Simmons three pointers gave the Pioneers a 12-6 advantage with just three minutes left in the quarter. Utica ended the first quarter up 16-9 as Hope Halvarson (Cranston, RI/Cranston East) hit a layup in the waning seconds of the frame. The Pioneer offense continued to shine as the team led 25-11 halfway through the period as Madelyn Cozzens (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) and Kimberly Soriano (Queens, NY/Monsignor McClancy Memorial) each dropped a pair of buckets in the frame. Utica paired physical defense with its stellar offense to take a 29-20 lead into the half.Both defenses tightened up as the teams combined for just seventeen points in the third quarter. Utica outscored Alfred 10-7 in the frame and took a 39-27 edge heading into the fourth quarter. The Pioneers led 55-43 with just 44 seconds to play, yet Alfred cut the lead to just five with 24 seconds remaining. Utica would nail clutch free throws to hang on and defeat Alfred 59-53 in a brilliant outing from the team on both sides of the ball. Utica played phenomenal on defense and the team recorded nine blocks led by Krissy Geraci (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) with three. Hope Halvarson (Cranston, RI/Cranston East) and McKenzie Simmons (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook) each had two blocks while Julia Rotando (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) and Madelyn Cozzens (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) each collected one. The Pioneers shot well today shooting 42.6 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from three-point range. 
 
Where We Stand: The Pioneers are currently seventh in the Empire 8 standings and pose an 8-6 record this season and are 3-4 in conference play. Utica is top five in scoring and defensive ratings and is third in the conference with a .382 shooting percentage from the field. The Pioneers continue to be a force on the glass and are tied for first in the E8 averaging 45.5 rebounds per game. The plethora of rebounds has led to plenty of fast break and second chance points for the team. Utica is third in the conference in assists averaging 15.57 per game and its ball movement has created plenty of great looks from the field for the team.
 
Sizzling Simmons: McKenzie Simmons (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook) has had a scorching start to her Pioneer career especially from behind the arc. The freshman wrapped up a fantastic week where she dropped 17 points and five rebounds against Elmira. The Red Hook, NY native then dropped a career-high 21 points against Alfred while collecting eight rebounds and two blocks. Simmons went 9-for-20 from beyond the arc on the week with 41 points, 15 rebounds, two assists, and three blocks.
 
Stat Sheet Stuffers: The trio of Petrina DeMarco (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Krissy Geraci (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia), and Kimberly Soriano (Queens, NY/Monsignor McClancy Memorial) all turned in great weeks and left their impact on each game. DeMarco poured in fifteen points, fourteen rebounds, and eight assists over the three games. Geraci dropped 18 points, 17 rebounds, three assists, and three blocks. Geraci has been phenomenal from the field this season as she is shooting .520 percent which is second best in the conference. Soriano scored 19 points, 15 rebounds, and four assists. Soriano is tied for fifth in the Empire 8 as she averages 1.7 three pointers made per game and has been a terrific outside shooter for the team. The trio's ability to fill the stat sheet has helped give the Pioneers steady scoring options.
 
Hope-ful: Hope Halvarson (Cranston, RI/Cranston East) turned in one of her best week's of the season this past week. Against Nazareth the junior nailed all six of her free throw attempts along with three rebounds, one block, and one steal. The Cranston, RI native then poured in six points on 3-for-3 shooting paired with two rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Havalrson converted three crafty layups and her defensive surge has sparked plenty of fast break opportunities for the Pioneers.
 
Defensive Prowess: The Pioneer defense has started to ramp up this past week and has been leading to plenty of fast break points for the team. The team collected 14 blocks this week including nine against Alfred. Utica also recorded 10 steals this week and the team's ability to force opponents into tough situations has sparked plenty of turnovers.
 
Scouting Houghton: The Highlanders are 11-4 this season and 4-4 in Empire 8 play which has them in sixth place in the conference. Houghton won its last match against Elmira on January 17 55-53 to pick up its fourth conference victory of the season. Carlee Miller and Crysta Lacrosse lead the charge for the team and both average more than 11.3 points per game with 4.5 rebounds. Lacrosse has been a force this season and just won her second Empire 8 rookie of the week this season. The freshman has dropped 14 points and six rebounds or more in three-straight games and has been terrific shooting the ball. The Highlanders have six shooters who have hit at least 11 three pointers this season and Lacrosse leads the team with 23 three pointers made so far. 
 
Looking at Medaille: The Mavericks are currently in ninth place in the Empire 8 and sport a 3-10 record this season and are 1-6 in conference play. Medaille dropped its last match to Alfred on January 17 75-54 in a tough match on the road. The Mavericks are led by Erin Hardick who is second in the conference in scoring averaging 15.3 points per game with 5.8 rebounds per game. Ariea Garrett is a force on the glass as she leads the Empire 8 averaging an outstanding 11.3 rebounds per game which is .7 more than second place. Garrett averages 12.4 points per game and Shyanne Trinh is another scorer who averages 11.8 points per game. Trinh is the team's top perimeter threat as she is shooting .392 from beyond the arc with more than 90 attempts which is tied for best in the Empire 8.

Up Next: After this week, Utica will return home to host Hartwick College on Friday, January 27 at 5:30 p.m.