UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's basketball team fell 80-64 to Plattsburgh State on Monday night. The team honored faculty and staff with a brief ceremony and awards during halftime for their hard work and dedication.
 
Vanessa Hall (Whitesville, NY/Whitesville Central) shined, pouring in a career-high 27 points and extended her double-digit scoring streak to six. The freshman was 2-for-3 from beyond the arc and 11-for-16 overall from the field while hauling in eight rebounds, one block and one assist.
 
Kieara Kirvan (Ledyard, CT/Ledyard) played great, dropping a career-high 11 points with six rebounds, one assist, and one block. McKenzie Simmons (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook) added nine points, six rebounds, and three assists with Hope Halvarson (Cranston, RI/Cranston East) scoring eight points and dishing out two dimes.
 
Plattsburgh cashed a pair of three-pointers to grab an early 6-2 edge and increased its lead to 10-4 halfway through the first frame. The Cardinals hit a few more from beyond the arc yet buckets by Halvarson helped Utica fight back and trail 21-10 after one.
 
The Cardinals canned another three to begin the second quarter, yet Utica used a strong scoring run to trail just 28-24 as Kirvan made back-to-back layups. The Pioneers defense turned up forcing multiple turnovers and a late Hanna Godkin (Clifton Springs, NY/Midlakes) jumper helped Utica trail just 33-29 at the half.
 
Plattsburgh continued to attack the paint, yet Utica was able to continue exchanging points and trailed just 40-35 halfway through the quarter. The Pioneers were able to force the ball in the paint and get to the free throw line helping to cut into the lead. But a late Cardinals run aided the team in holding a 58-41 edge after three quarters of play.
 
The Cardinals increased their lead to 22 points halfway through the fourth, yet Utica began to rally and trailed just 77-64 in the waning moments of the quarter. However, Plattsburgh held on for an 80-64 victory.
 
Utica (1-5, 0-0 Empire 8) will travel to face Houghton University on Saturday, December 2 at 2 p.m. in its first Empire 8 game of the season.