UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's basketball team fell to Union College 78-70 on Monday night in a thriller.
 
Vanessa Hall (Whitesville, NY/Whitesville Central) was unbelievable pouring in a career-high 26 points on 8-for-12 shooting with two rebounds, two steals, and one block. McKenzie Simmons (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook) added 12 points with a whopping six steals, four rebounds, and two assists.
 
Hayleigh Lagase (Wallingford, CT/Mark T. Sheehan) was also efficient posting a line of nine points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block. Haley Burchhardt (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont) did it all with six points, four assists, two steals, and one rebound.
 
The Pioneers were incredible defensively with 19 steals including seven players recording multiple. The team was also fantastic at getting to the free throw line, going 31-for-44 from the charity stripe. 
 
Utica jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead on buckets by Julia Rotando (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) and Burchhardt yet Union responded with a 10-0 run with just 3:53 remaining in the quarter. The Pioneers got to the free throw line to cut into the deficit, yet Union held onto a slim 18-14 edge after one.
 
The Pioneers came out firing with a quick 4-0 run to trail just 20-18 at the 7:50 mark. The Garnet Chargers responded with a flurry of scoring to grasp a 25-18 edge halfway through the frame. The teams exchanged buckets and Union took a 33-27 advantage into the half.
 
The teams kept exchanging points to begin the third before Union used a late run to increase its lead to 57-41 at the end of the frame.
 
Union started the fourth quarter with a 6-0 run to increase its lead to 23 points with a 64-41 edge at the 7:21 mark. Yet, Utica's defense turned up forcing a plethora of turnovers and timely buckets to keep cutting into the deficit and trailed just 70-65 with 1:43 remaining in the contest. The Pioneers kept battling yet Union held on for a 78-70 win in a thriller of a game. 
 
Utica (0-3, 0-0 Empire 8) will head to face Manhattanville College on Saturday, November 18 at 2 p.m.