UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's basketball team will open its 2024-25 at home on Tuesday, November 12 at 5pm against Union College, before traveling to Plattsburgh, NY to take on the Holiday Inn Express Cardinal Classic, hosted by Plattsburgh State. Game one of the tournament is set for Friday, November 16 at 3:30pm versus the SUNY Potsdam Bears. Game two of the tournament is set for Saturday, November 17 at 3:30pm. 
 
Follow Along: Live video for Tuesday's matchup can be found here, and live stats can be found here. Live video for both Friday and Saturday's contests can be found here, and live stats for both games can be found here. 
 
Running it Back: Last season, the Pioneers posted a 10-16 overall record and finished 7-9 in conference play. Utica would find themselves in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament, but would fall in the first round to the Hartwick College Hawks by a score of 69-44. Two Pioneers received Empire 8 All-Conference honors for their exceptional efforts in the 2023-24 season. Vanessa Hall (Whitesville, NY/Whitesville Central) turned in a historical freshman campaign that earned her Empire 8 Co-Rookie of the Year and First Team honors, as well as D3hoops.com All-Region III Third team honors. Hall led the conference in points during the regular season, averaging a whopping 17.6 points per game and amassing 431 points and was the only player in the league to eclipse more than 400 points. Hall was also a premier defender swiping 29 steals and rejecting 17 shots. Krissy Geraci (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) received her first career all-conference honor after being named Utica's recipient of the Sportswoman of the Year Award. Geraci was a consistent starter for the Pioneers and was a ravenous rebounder while providing the team with a reliable mid-range shooter. The senior averaged 3.9 points per game with 5.1 rebounds per game. 
 
At the Helm: Head Coach Michele Davis returns for her 24th season and looks to continue leading a prestigious program. Davis has led the Pioneers to two NCAA Tournament appearances, two Empire 8 Championships, and four ECAC Championships. Davis was recently inducted into the Greater Utica Sports Hall of Fame. 
 
Schedule Breakdown: The Pioneers' regular season will run from November 12 to Tuesday, February 18, 2025. If qualified, the Empire 8 Conference Tournament will be held from February 22 to March 1, 2025 with the highest remaining seed holding home court advantage. Utica will play 25 regular season games, hosting 11. Utica will attend three tournaments this season, beginning with the Holiday Inn Express Cardinal Classic hosted by Plattsburgh State, featuring the Cardinals, the SUNY Potsdam Bears, and Vermont State University Castleton in the field. The Pioneers will also attend the Westfield State Tournament hosted by Westfield State, featuring the Owls and an opponent that is to be determined. Utica will also attend the Courtyard by Marriott Classic hosted by Wesleyan University that will feature the Cardinals, Rivier University and Salve Regina. Utica will begin the season with nine of its first 10 matchups being non-conference games which include Union, SUNY Potsdam, Plattsburgh State, Westfield State, SUNY Delhi, Wesleyan University, Rivier University, and SUNY Cortland. Beginning on January 7, the Pioneers will begin its conference slate by hosting Empire 8 Conference newcomer SUNY Brockport as the start of 16 straight conference games. 
 
Key Losses: The Pioneers are entering the 2024-25 season without key veterans Julia Rotando (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane), Hope Halvarson (Cranston, RI/Cranston East), and Krissy Geraci (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia). Rotando averaged 3.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game throughout her 84 game career as a Pioneer. Last season, Rotando averaged over 22 minutes per game, netting 103 points while shooting 29.3 percent from the floor, 21.6 percent from beyond the arc and 68.2 percent from the free throw line. Rotando notched 90 total rebounds last season, with 54 assists and 43 steals. Halvarson averaged 2.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1 steal per game in her four years as a Pioneer. Last season, Halvarson averaged just over 21 minutes per game, netting 113 points while shooting 35.2 percent from the floor, 23.1 percent from three, and 54.1 percent from the free throw line. Halvarson recorded 85 total rebounds, 46 assists, 16 blocks, and 45 steals last season. Geraci averaged 7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game throughout her career as a Pioneer. Last season, Geraci tallied 99 points last season, shooting 41 percent from the floor, and 38.2 percent from the free throw line. Geraci was second on the team in boards last season with 132 and recorded 28 assists, seven blocks, and 13 steals. 
 
Down the Hall: Vanessa Hall (Whitesville, NY/Whitesville Central) has returned for another campaign for the Pioneers. Hall turned in a historical freshman campaign that earned her Empire 8 Co-Rookie of the Year and First Team honors. She was the third Pioneer to win Rookie of the Year and the first since Jessica Berry in the 2007-2008 season. Hall led the conference in points during the regular season, averaging a whopping 17.6 points per game and amassing 431 points and was the only player in the league to eclipse more than 400 points. Hall was also a premier defender swiping 29 steals and rejecting 17 shots.
 
Two Way Street: McKenzie Simmons (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook) has returned for her junior campaign for the Pioneers. Last season Simmons scored 140 points, averaging 8.2 points per game. In her 26.9 minutes per game, Simmons shot 28.8 percent from the floor and 76.3 percent from the free throw line. Simmons was a solid rebounder for the Pioneers last season, recording 79 total rebounds and averaging 4.6 rebounds per game. Simmons also recorded 39 assists, seven blocks, and swiped 35 steals last season. 
 
Veteran Presence: Returning for the Pioneers this season are senior Hayleigh Lagase (Wallingford, CT/Mark T. Sheehan) and sophomore Hanna Godkin (Clifton Springs, NY/Midlakes). Last season, Lagase averaged just over 19 minutes per game, tallying 112 points. The senior forward shot 30.4 percent from the floor, 26.1 percent for three, and 61.5 percent from the free throw line. Lagase recorded 23 assists, seven blocks, and 15 steals last season. Godkin averaged just about 11 minutes per game last season, and tallied 53 points, averaging 2.1 points per game. The sophomore forward shot 34 percent from the floor, 20.0 percent from three, and 64.3 percent from the free throw line. Godkin recorded 48 total rebounds last season, with nine assists, five blocks, and seven steals. 
 
Fresh Faces: Utica welcomes five new faces to the floor this season. Junior transfer Carly Atty (Tribes Hill, NY/Fonda-Fultonville) comes to the Pioneers after spending two seasons with the Buffalo State Bengals. As a Bengal, Atty averaged 25 minutes per game, where she netted 166 total points for an average of 3.5 points per game. Atty shot 32.1 percent from the floor, 32.7 percent from beyond the arc, and 75.0 percent from the free throw line. Atty totaled 137 boards as a Bengal, averaging 2.9 rebounds per game, with 89 total assists, two blocks, and 41 total steals. The Pioneers also welcome freshmen Ella Lobdell (Westport, NY/Boquet Valley), Kendall Abraham (Schenectady, NY/Colonie Central), MarLie Macek (Kensington, NH/Exeter High School), and Natalie Cornell (Greenwood, NY/Jasper-Troupsburg) to the team this season. Head Coach Michele Davis will look to these newcomers to make an impact this season. 
 
Scouting Union: The Union College Garnet Chargers have opened its 2024-25 campaign 1-1 overall. Grace Ceseretti was the team's leading scorer, netting 22 points in the team's opening slate. Jenna Forman and Grace Ardito have both notched 19 points for the Garnet Chargers. As a team, the Garnet Chargers have shot 33.6 percent from the floor and have shot 36.1 percent from beyond the arc. Ceseretti has been the team's leading rebounder, with 25 total rebounds so far this season. As a team, the Garnet Chargers have out rebounded its opponents by eight boards so far this season. Emma Riley has been a pain in opposition's sides so far this season, recording four steals in two games. The Garnet Chargers have turned the ball over 51 times so far this season, compared to the 33 total turnovers by opponents. On average, Union has turned the ball over nine more times than opponents and has allowed over 21 points off of turnovers. Union has also allowed 22 steals to opponents, with opponents averaging 11 steals per game. 
 
Breaking Down Potsdam: The SUNY Potsdam Bears were 9-15 last season and 5-13 in SUNYAC play, falling just short of the postseason. Senior guard Xy'El Bradford has returned for the Bears after finishing third on the team in scoring with 8.1 points-per-game. She played in 23 contests, starting two of them, averaging 4.0 rebounds-per-game and totaling 34 steals, 27 assists and four blocks. Last season, as a team the Bears shot 38.5 percent from the floor and 26.4 percent from beyond the arc. As a team, the Bears averaged 38.3 rebounds per game, and 17.3 turnovers per game.  
 
A Look At Plattsburgh: The Plattsburgh State Cardinals went 10-14 and 7-11 in SUNYAC play in 2023-24, as they slotted in at the seventh spot just missing out on the tournament by one game. The team will return 10 players from last year's roster including two All-SUNYAC players in senior guard/forward Payton Couture and junior center Imani Walcott. As a team, the Cardinals shot 35.8 percent from the floor and allowed opponents to outscore the Cardinals by a 4.5 point margin. Plattsburgh averaged 18.4 turnovers per game last season, and allowed 16.2 points off turnovers. The Cardinals were outrebounded by opponents by 2.3 boards per game with Plattsburg averaging 39.8 rebounds per game. 
 
Up Next: The Pioneers will travel to Westfield, Massachusetts to take on the Westfield State Tournament. Game one of the tournament will take place Friday, November 22 against Westfield State University with a tipoff slated for 5:30pm. The second matchup of the tournament is slated for Saturday, November 23, with an opponent and time that is yet to be determined.