UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's basketball team is set for a crucial week of Empire 8 play traveling to face (RV) St. John Fisher University on Tuesday, February 6 at 5:30 p.m. The team will then stay on the road to face Keuka College on Saturday, February 10 at 2 p.m. before hosting the Wolves on Monday, February 12 at 5:30 p.m. in a makeup game from January 13.
 
Follow Along: Fisher will provide live video here and live stats here for Tuesday's game. Keuka will provide live video and/or stats here for Saturday's clash. Those unable to attend Monday's home game can tune in for live video and/or stats here.
 
Last Time Out: The team beat Russell Sage College 58-55 last Saturday afternoon in thrilling fashion to pick up an Empire 8 victory. Vanessa Hall (Whitesville, NY/Whitesville Central) shined once again, leading the Pioneers with 21 points and nine boards while also hitting a clutch triple late in the game. Haley Burchhardt (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont) poured in 13 points with eight rebounds and was a menace on defense with one block and two steals. Krissy Geraci (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) turned in a great performance, scoring eight points with nine rebounds and going 4-for-5 from the field. Hope Halvarson (Cranston, RI/Cranston East) had eight points, four rebounds, and two steals in the contest. The teams each exchanged a pair of buckets to begin the match 4-4 before Sage nailed a triple to grab a slim 7-4 edge at the 6:54 mark. A Geraci layup had Utica down 9-8 before the Gators had a small scoring run to lead 17-9. Yet the Pioneers rallied to trail just 17-12 after the first quarter of action. Utica used a 7-0 run to take a 19-17 lead after a three-pointer from Halvarson and buckets from Hayleigh Lagase (Wallingford, CT/Mark T. Sheehan) and Burchhardt. The Gators rallied to grab a brief 23-21 advantage at the 4:05 mark and used a late free throw to knot the score at 24-24 at the half. Jumpers by Hall and Burchhardt gave the Pioneers a 28-24 lead to begin the second half and the team pushed it to 33-27 at the 7:12 mark. Sage rallied hitting multiple jumpers to cut the lead to just 37-36 but the Utica offense continued to be clutch and produce and held a 43-30 lead after the third quarter. A Halvarson and-one extended the lead to 46-40 yet the Gators would not go down easily trailing just 46-45 at the 8:04 mark. The teams exchanged buckets with Utica holding onto its slim lead before the Gators tied the match at 52-52 and hit a clutch three-pointer to take a 55-52 lead with under three minutes left. However, Hall canned a deep triple to even the score at 55-55 and hit a layup to put the team up 57-55 in the waning moments. Utica rallied to secure a 58-55 Empire 8 victory in thrilling fashion.
 
In the Hunt: Utica currently sits at 6-14 overall with a 3-8 Empire 8 record which has the team in seventh place and is just half a game back from the final playoff spot. The Pioneers begin a crucial week of Empire 8 play as the team looks to remain in the hunt and try to gain some ground in the standings. One of the team's most crucial games left will be next week on Friday, February 16 when the team hosts Alfred University who currently holds the tiebreaker over the Pioneers at this time.
 
 
 
Another Week, Another Award: Vanessa Hall (Whitesville, NY/Whitesville Central) was named Empire 8 Rookie of the Week after she turned in another stellar week scoring over 20 points with at least seven boards in two of three games and played a crucial role in the team's Empire 8 victory over Russell Sage. The freshman had 11 points with six rebounds against Nazareth. She dropped 24 points with seven boards and one steal against Hartwick and then 21 points, nine rebounds, and one steal against Sage.
 
Pass Me the Rock: Sophomore Haley Burchhardt (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont) has been a scoring machine scoring double figures in six of her last seven outings. The Schenectady, NY native has also been a menace on defense recording at least one steal in six-straight games including three games with multiple steals during the stretch. She played a crucial role in the team's Empire 8 win over Sage with 13 points and a season-high eight boards while playing strong defense swiping two steals and rejecting one shot.
 
Another Big Game: Krissy Geraci (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) turned in another big game against Russell Sage College dropping eight points with nine rebounds on an effective 4-for-5 from the field. The senior has been heating up with her scoring and has recorded seven or more rebounds in four of her last six outings.
 
Scouting Fisher: The (RV) St. John Fisher Cardinals are 20-2 this season with a perfect 13-0 Empire 8 record. This has them first in the conference standings and the team has clinched an Empire 8 Postseason Tournament berth. The team topped Alfred University 72-66 in its last outing on Saturday, February 3. The team is led by Sidney Tomasso and Joleen Lusk who are two of the conference's best scorers each averaging more than 14 points per game. Claire Kruszka is another fine scoring option and is a premier defender with 58 steals this season. Lusk is one of the conference's top shot blockers with 36 rejections this season.
 
Looking at Keuka: The Wolves are 1-18 this season and 0-11 in Empire 8 conference play ranking them ninth in the conference. The team fell 65-49 to Hartwick College in its last outing on Saturday, February 3 and will clash with Nazareth University on Tuesday, February 6 before hosting Utica on Saturday, February 10. Sydney Brown and Mary Cotter are the team's top scoring duo with each averaging over nine points per game. The pair are also lethal from beyond the arc with each canning at least 30 triples this season while shooting at least 26 percent. Caiden Crego is the team's top defender swiping 23 steals this season with Ellen Lavonas being the team's top shot blocker with 14.
 
Up Next: The team will return home and host Alfred University on Friday, February 16 at 5:30 p.m. before closing out its regular season on Senior Day against Elmira College at 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 17.