UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's basketball team is set to begin its final homestand of the season this upcoming week. The team will face Medaille University on Friday, February 17 at 5:30 p.m. and conclude its season honoring its seniors on Saturday, February 18 at 2 p.m. against Houghton University.
 
Follow Along: Those unable to attend either of the games can tune in for live video and/or stats via https://bit.ly/2wtxUV5. 
 
Last Time Out: The team beat Elmira College 73-64 on Saturday afternoon in a convincing Empire 8 victory. McKenzie Simmons (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook) turned in her second career double-double as she poured in 14 points with 11 rebounds including going a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Krissy Geraci (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) was phenomenal today as she scored 17 points on a terrific 8-for-9 shooting from the field and corralled five rebounds. Haley Burchhardt (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont) dropped 13 points with five rebounds and two assists. Petrina DeMarco (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) scored 11 points with five rebounds and one assist while Hannah Stack (Dolgeville, NY/Dolgeville) had seven points and seven rebounds. Julia Rotando (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) scored six points with four rebounds and seven assists. Rotando has now recorded at least three rebounds and five assists in five-straight games and her playmaking has been a key part of the team's offense. Utica was terrific from the charity stripe shooting an incredible 21-for-23 as a team. The Pioneers were able to crash the glass effectively as they won the rebound battle 45-39 and brought in 15 offensive rebounds. Elmira came out firing and nailed three shots from deep to hold a quick 13-4 edge. Yet Utica would battle back as Hannah Stack (Dolgeville, NY/Dolgeville) converted a pair of free throws and McKenzie Simmons (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook) hit a transition layup to cut the Soaring Eagles lead to 13-11. Elmira gained a 16-11 lead yet the Pioneer offense continued to produce and Utica held a 22-19 advantage after the first quarter. To open the second frame Krissy Geraci (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) converted a jumper to give Utica a 24-19 lead yet Elmira used a 5-0 scoring run to tie the game at 24-24. The Pioneers opened a 33-24 edge courtesy of a 9-0 scoring run led by Haley Burchhardt's (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont) five points during the stretch. The Soaring Eagles stormed back cutting the lead to just 35-32 but the Pioneers answered back to take a 42-33 lead into the half. Utica kept its foot on the gas as DeMarco canned a three pointer to open the second half. Another transition layup by Simmons increased the Pioneer lead to 51-39 halfway through the frame. The teams continued to exchange buckets and a late three from Elmira cut the Utica lead to 56-50 heading into the final quarter of play. To begin the fourth quarter Burchhardt and Geraci each recorded a pair of baskets to increase the Pioneer lead to 64-54 with just over five minutes remaining. Elmira cut the lead to 69-62 with under one minute to play yet Simmons converted all four of her free three attempts and Utica held on to win 73-64.
 
Farewell tour: The Pioneers will honor its five seniors this Saturday against Houghton in its senior game. The five seniors being honored are Kimberly Soriano (Queens, NY/Monsignor McClancy Memorial), Petrina DeMarco (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Julia Rotando (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane), Kristine Miller (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook), and Sarah Hovey (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro). The ceremony will take place just before the game tips off at 2 p.m.
 
Where We Stand: The team continues to be efficient in scoring as it ranks fourth in the conference in shooting .375 percent from the field. Utica's ball movement has been one of the keys to its offense as the team ranks third in the Empire 8 averaging 14.74 assists per game. The Pioneer's rebounding has been tenacious all season and the team's average of 43.1 per game is second in the conference and just .2 behind Nazareth for the Empire 8 lead.
 
Co-Rookie of the Week: McKenzie Simmons (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook) of the Utica University women's basketball team has been named Empire 8 Co-Rookie of the Week, as announced by the league on Monday. Simmons had a spectacular week over the team's three games. Against St. John Fisher on Tuesday, Simmons had a career-high 22 points while grabbing seven rebounds. On Friday, she shot 5-for-13 from the field putting up 13 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. To conclude her week, she recorded her second double-double of the season scoring 14 points, 11 rebounds and going a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
 
Relentless Rotando: Julia Rotando (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) has brought her high motor play all season and has started to fill the stat sheet down the stretch. The senior has recorded at least three rebounds and five assists in five-straight games and her playmaking has been a key part of the team's offense. She has also recorded two or more steals in three out of her last five games and scored six or more points in five of her last six appearances.
 
Making the Most: Krissy Geraci (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) has been extremely efficient this season and makes the most of her minutes. The junior turned in one of her best performances this season against Elmira where she dropped 17 points on an incredible 8-for-9 shooting with five rebounds in just 19 minutes. The Rochester, NY native scored at least four points and grabbed at least three rebounds in all three games last week and has been one of the team's top inside scorers this season.
 
Approaching History: Petrina DeMarco (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) has been a sharpshooter her entire career and is one of the best in program history. She has 167 three point field goals made and is now just three away from having the second most three-point field goals made in program history. Veteran Kimberly Soriano (Queens, NY/Monsignor McClancy Memorial) will play in her 100th game on Saturday, February 18 and will join Petrina DeMarco (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) as one of 14 players in program history to have accomplished this feat.
 
Scouting Medaille: The Mavericks are 5-17 this season and sport a 3-13 Empire 8 record which has them ninth in the conference. The team fell to Russell Sage in its last game on Saturday, February 11 by a score of 71-56. Medaille has a very balanced offense as it features three players averaging more than 11 points per game. Erin Hardick is a pure scorer averaging 15.7 points per game which ranks second in the Empire 8. Shyanne Trinh is another viable scoring option as she averages 11.8 points per game and is the team's top perimeter threat shooting an Empire 8 leading .336 percent from beyond the arc. Ariea Garrett is the team's top inside presence averaging 11.1 points per game and she also is a ravenous rebounder as she averages 12.8 per game which leads the conference by 2.2.
 
Looking at Houghton: The Highlanders are 16-7 this season with a 10-7 conference record which has clinched them an Empire 8 postseason berth. The team cruised past Hartwick in its last game on Saturday, February 11 in a convincing 73-39 victory. Houghton is a very young team who spreads around its scoring as six players average more than five points per game. Crysta Lacrosse leads the team averaging 11.3 points per game and has won Empire 8 Rookie of the Week multiple times this season. Carlee Miller and Kayla Camacho are two more top scoring options for the team as each average more than 9.4 points per game. Emma Cole is the Empire 8's top rim protector as she has an incredible 54 blocks this season which is 18 more than anyone else in the conference.