UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's basketball team fell short on Tuesday night against the Nazareth Golden Flyers, losing by a final score of 70-50. 
 
Vanessa Hall (Whitesville, NY/Whitesville Central) and Haley Burchhardt (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont) paced the offense, each notching 11 points. Hanna Godkin (Clifton Springs, NY/Midlakes) poured in six points, while Julia Rotando (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) and Hayleigh Lagase (Wallingford, CT/Mark T. Sheehan) netted five apiece. Hope Halvarson (Cranston, RI/Cranston East) played terrific minutes as well with four steals and intense defense all game. 
 
Molly Benetti led the Nazareth offense with 20 points on a stellar 9-for-12 shooting night. Olivia Dobrovosky played a great game with 14 points and six rebounds, and Kiara Anglin turned in 11 points with seven rebounds.
 
Utica started the game strongly, holding a lead through the first seven minutes of play. Through this stretch Nazareth was held to only 21 percent from the floor due to Utica's stout defense. The Golden Flyers would eventually hit their stride as the quarter progressed, opening up a six point lead by the end of the first frame. 
 
Nazareth would open their lead up to 19 as the second quarter progressed, scoring often from the interior and on transition. While their lead grew, Utica showed resilience with Julia Rotando (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) and Hope Halvarson (Cranston, RI/Cranston East) making an impact on the defensive end. Rotando stole an errant pass followed by two interceptions by Hope Halvarson (Cranston, RI/Cranston East), the first of which resulting in an and-one layup. 
 
The Golden Flyers outshot Utica 45 percent to 32 percent collectively in the first half but Utica's strong contests on the three point shot held them to 1-for-12 from deep and allowed them to stay in the game. 
 
In the second half, Nazareth would begin to pull away, opening up a 28 point lead at one point. Utica would continue to battle their way back. Halvarson continued to build on her fantastic defensive game, tallying two more steals in the second half. Rotando and Burchhardt fueled a late run, scoring a combined nine points in the closing minutes to bring Utica back to within 20. 
 
Utica (5-13, 2-7 Empire 8) will be back in action on Friday February 2 at 5:30 p.m. as they travel to Oneonta, NY for a matchup against Hartwick.