UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's basketball team is set to begin the Empire 8 Conference Tournament clashing with fourth-seeded Hartwick College on Tuesday, February 20 at 6 p.m.
 
Follow Along: Hartwick will provide live video here and live stats here.
 
Last Time Out: The team topped Elmira College 45-36 last Saturday afternoon to clinch the fifth seed in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament. The team honored its seniors Krissy Geraci (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia), Kelsey Carter (Shamong, NJ/Seneca), Hope Halvarson (Cranston, RI/Cranston East) and graduate students Julia Rotando (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) and Kelsey McCaskill (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) before the game with a brief ceremony. Vanessa Hall (Whitesville, NY/Whitesville Central) led the team with 19 points, three rebounds, one block, and one steal. Julia Rotando (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) brought the energy with 12 points, four rebounds, four assists, four steals, and multiple converted and-ones. Haley Burchhardt (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont) added four points, seven boards and two steals with Krissy Geraci (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) scoring two points and hauling in a season-high 10 boards. Hope Halvarson (Cranston, RI/Cranston East) dropped two points with five rebounds and three blocks and was playing lockdown defense all afternoon. Hall got the Pioneers off to a quick 4-0 start to begin the first quarter nailing a layup and a pair of free throws. Elmira used a six-point run to claim a 6-4 lead, yet a Hall jumper knotted the game at 6-6 halfway through the frame. The teams continued to exchange buckets with Elmira canning a deep three-pointer at the buzzer to hold a 15-12 edge after the first quarter. The teams each hit a pair of jumpers as the Soaring Eagles held a 19-14 edge at the 8:21 mark. Elmira converted an and-one to grab a 22-15 lead, but a Hall layup cut the deficit to just 22-17 at the half. Utica used a four-point run to trail by just one as Geraci and Hall splashed a pair of jumpers to open the second half. Hall kept going to work adding another three points, but the Soaring Eagles knotted the game at 25-25 at the 4:24 mark. Timely buckets by Burchhardt and a Rotando converted and-one aided Utica in holding a 33-29 edge after three quarters of play. Elmira struck first in the fourth, yet Rotando answered with a jumper. Rotando picked up a timely steal and canned a fast break jumper to extend the Utica lead to 39-31 at the 3:34 mark. Lagase and Halvarson hit some clutch free throws and the Pioneers held on for the 45-36 E8 victory to earn the fifth seed in the upcoming Empire 8 Conference Tournament.
 
Tournament Info: The 2024 Empire 8 Conference Women's Basketball Championship Tournament will feature the conference's top six teams from regular season play. First round action will feature the No. 3 seed Houghton University hosting the No. 6 seed Elmira College and No. 4 seed Hartwick College hosting the No. 5 seed Utica on Tuesday, Feb. 20. Semifinal action takes place on Thursday, Feb. 22 with the No. 1 seed St. John Fisher University hosting the winner of Hartwick/Utica and the No. 2 seed Nazareth University hosting the winner of Houghton/Elmira. The two semifinal winners will meet on Saturday, Feb. 24 in the E8 Championship at the site of the highest remaining seed. The Empire 8 Champion will earn an automatic berth into the 2024 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship Tournament.
 
Admission Info: Adults are $6, students and seniors with ID are $4, and children under 12 are free.
 
Playoff History: Utica has made 11 Empire 8 Conference Tournament appearances, and its most recent berth came in 2021 when the team was a four seed and fell to Russell Sage College in the First Round. This will be the first time Utica and Hartwick have ever clashed in the playoffs after each team won one meeting apiece in the regular season.
 
Coming in Hot: The Pioneers are red-hot coming into the Empire 8 Conference Tournament having won four-straight outings including five of its last six. Utica has won its last three outings by more than nine points and is credited due to its consistent offense including fantastic three-point shooting paired with lockdown defense leading to transition buckets.
 
Bringing the Energy: Julia Rotando (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) was named Empire 8 Co-Player of the Week after she turned in her best week of the season at the perfect time playing a crucial role in the team's three E8 victories which led them to the fifth seed in the upcoming Empire 8 Conference Tournament. She amassed 40 points, 15 rebounds, 12 assists, and eight steals over the week and was a sharpshooter going 6-for-14 from beyond the arc. Rotando poured her energy into Utica with her great defense and converted multiple clutch and-ones to keep the momentum with Utica.
 
Doing it All: Vanessa Hall (Whitesville, NY/Whitesville Central) was named Empire 8 Rookie of the Week after she turned in another stellar week dropping a ridiculous 59 points with 20 rebounds, five assists, five blocks, and six steals to help the team collect crucial conference victories. She shot a fantastic 23-for-38 from the field and played some great defense leading to some fast break buckets for Utica while hitting some timely jumpers during crunch time. 
 
Scouting the Hawks: Hartwick is led by the dominant scoring duo of Bree Fargnoli and Isabella Astorino who each average at least 10.8 points per game along with at least 4.7 rebounds. The duo are also prime defenders with Fargnoli recording 36 steals and seven blocks this season with Astorino recording 25 steals and 41 blocks. Sareena DiCerbo and Caitie Unger are two more reliable scorers with each averaging at least seven points per game. DiCerbo is also one of the team's top rebounders hauling in seven per game while swiping 33 steals this season. Unger and Daniella DeBiase are two sharpshooters with each nailing 23 three-pointers this season.
 
Series Slates: The teams split the season series 1-1 with Utica topping Hartwick at home in an overtime thriller, 68-62, on Tuesday, January 23. The Hawks won 74-53 on their home court on Friday, February 2. Vanessa Hall (Whitesville, NY/Whitesville Central) and Haley Burchhardt (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont) played crucial roles in both games with Hall pouring in at least 24 points in both outings with Burchhardt finishing in double-digits in both meetings.

Up Next: The winner will travel to face top-seeded St. John Fisher University on Thursday, February 22 at 6:30 p.m. in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament Semifinals.