UTICA, NY- The Utica University women's basketball team fell to the Russell Sage Gators by a score of 90-69 on Saturday afternoon. 
 
The Pioneers were led by senior guard Petrina DeMarco (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) who scored 17 points in the contest. Utica also had three more players in double figures, as McKenzie Simmons (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook) had 12 points followed by Haley Burchhardt (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont) and Hannah Stack (Dolgeville, NY/Dolgeville) who had 11 points each. Sage was led by a two-headed attack as Syrita Faraj led the way with 32 points to go along with 23 points on seven made threes from Sammy Pasinella. 
 
It was an ideal start for the Pioneers as they came out the gate ready to play with an early 18-14 first quarter lead. The team was able to generate good looks against the Sage zone as the Pioneers connected on three first quarter threes. The Gators were able to close the gap, eventually leading to a 24-24 score after the first quarter.
 
Demarco was able to connect on a triple to give her team the lead at 27-24 to start the second quarter. After that, Sage went on an 18-5 run to give themselves a 44-32 lead. Despite hot shooting from Sage, Utica maintained within striking distance as they went into the locker room down 55-42 after shooting 50 percent from the field and 6-for-13 from behind the arc. 
 
The third quarter was a little bit different of a feel as offense did not come by as easily. It took nearly three minutes for Haley Burchhardt (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont) to make the first field goal of the quarter for Utica which cut the deficit to 10 points. That was as close as the team would get in the third with Sage maintaining a 73-55 lead heading into the fourth.
 
Despite good effort from the Pioneers with high intensity, the fourth quarter was more of the same. The Gators eventually were able to pull away leading to a 90-69 victory. 
 
Utica (8-10, 3-8 Empire 8) will look to bounce back on Tuesday night as the team hosts Nazareth College at 5:30 p.m.