HOUGHTON, NY - The Utica University women's basketball team fell to Houghton University 61-44 on Saturday afternoon in its first conference matchup of the season.
 
Vanessa Hall (Whitesville, NY/Whitesville Central) once again led Utica in scoring, pouring in 20 points and increasing her double-digit scoring streak to seven to begin her Pioneer career. Haley Burchhardt (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont) had a fine game, dropping eight points with five rebounds, two steals, and one assist.
 
McKenzie Simmons (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook) led the way defensively with five steals while also adding three rebounds, and two assists. Hope Halvarson (Cranston, RI/Cranston East) continued to produce in all facets of the game with a team-leading seven rebounds and three assists.
 
Houghton came out firing to begin the match grabbing an early 6-0 lead in the first quarter. Vanessa Hall (Whitesville, NY/Whitesville Central) converted a layup off a fine feed from Hope Halvarson (Cranston, RI/Cranston East) to cut into the early Highlander deficit making it 6-2. Houghton had a strong scoring run nailing a few triples, yet the Pioneers rallied as Hall poured in two more buckets as Utica trailed 18-6 after the first frame.
 
The Highlanders canned another triple to begin the second frame yet buckets by Hall and Jordan Carmosino (Ringwood, NJ/Lakeland Regional) helped silence the noise. Houghton put together another scoring run before Haley Burchhardt (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont) converted two layups with a Hannah Stack (Dolgeville, NY/Dolgeville) layup to follow. However, Houghton would have another small run late to lead 40-20 at the half.
 
Utica enjoyed a nice start to the third quarter scoring three of the first four baskets and trimming the lead to 43-26. The Pioneers continued to work and get to the charity stripe with a Burchhardt fast break layup cutting the deficit to just 13 with 2:30 remaining in the frame. But the Highlanders closed out the quarter strong and took a 54-32 advantage into the final quarter of play.
 
Julia Rotando (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) was Utica's spark plug in the fourth quarter scoring two buckets in the first few minutes of a defensive quarter. Hard defense led to tough shots before Hall fueled a fantastic six-point scoring run towards the end of the quarter. However, it was not enough as Houghton held on for a 61-44 Empire 8 victory.
 
Utica (1-6, 0-1 Empire 8) will remain on the road and face SUNY Delhi on Wednesday, December 6 at 5 p.m.