UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's basketball team continues conference play this week as the team takes on the Hartwick College Hawks at home on Friday, January 24 at 5:30pm on Miga Court inside the Clark Athletic Center. The team then travels to Albany, NY to take on the Russell Sage College Gators on Saturday, January 25 at 2pm. 
 
Follow Along: Live video for Friday's matchup can be found here, and live stats can be found here. Live video for Saturday's matchup can be found here, and live stats can be found here. 
 
Last Time Out: The team fell in a highly contested conference matchup to the Alfred University Saxons on Saturday afternoon. The Pioneers fell by a score of 62-59.  Leading the way for the Pioneers was Hayleigh Lagase (Wallingford, CT/Mark T. Sheehan), who recorded her first double double of the season with 16 points (7-9 FG, 2-4 3PT) while nabbing 10 boards, adding seven assists, and swiping one steal. Vanessa Hall (Whitesville, NY/Whitesville Central) and McKenzie Simmons (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook) each chipped in 13 points with Hall nabbing nine rebounds to Simmons' five. Both Hall and Simmons each tallied a block, while Hall added an assist and a steal to her stat line. Hanna Godkin (Clifton Springs, NY/Midlakes) nabbed herself seven rebounds and added two steals on the afternoon. 
 
Hey, Hay: Hayleigh Lagase (Wallingford, CT/Mark T. Sheehan) put together some solid outings for the Pioneers last week. The senior swing averaged 10 points per game with five rebounds per game. Across three games, Lagase shot 48 percent from the floor, just over 36 percent from three point range, and was perfect in her free throw attempts, going 4-4. Lagase also added three steals and a block to her stat line through three games. Lagase shined against Alfred, going 7-9 from the floor, and 2-4 from three point range. As a rebounder, she totaled 10 rebounds as well as a steal. Lagase was also able to get the offense going, dishing out seven assists. 
 
Playmakers: Vanessa Hall (Whitesville, NY/Whitesville Central) and McKenzie Simmons (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook) have continued to spearhead the Pioneer offense. Hall is currently second on the conference leaderboard in scoring, averaging 19.1 points per game. Through only 11 games, Hall has attempted 153 total field goals, and has converted on 51 percent of them to take the fourth spot on the conference leaderboard in field goal percentage. Simmons currently occupies the eighth spot on the conference leaderboard in scoring with 12.7 points per game. Simmons is also inside the top 20 in the conference in rebounding with an average of 6.8 total rebounds per game. 
 
Scouting Harwick: The Hartwick College Hawks are 3-11 on the season and have posted a 1-5 record in conference play. As a team, the Hawks are averaging 49.3 points per game and are being outscored by opponents by over 15 points. Macy Durkin is the team's leading scorer, averaging 10.4 points per game. Durkin is also the team's top shooter, with 35.8 percent of her shots from the floor dropping. As a rebounder, Durkin has the team lead averaging 8.8 total rebounds per game. Durkin has been everywhere for the Hawks, adding 34 total steals to her season stats. Emma Cohen has been the team's top threat from outside, with 16 total made threes this season. Yadi Smith has been able to get the Hawks offense going, dishing out 32 total assists this season for an average of 2.5 assists per game. 
 
A Look at Sage: The Russell Sage College Gators are 3-10 on the season and have posted a 2-4 record in conference play. Layla Acosta and Malena Gereau have been the team's leading scorers, each with over 145 total points this season with both averaging over 11 points per game. Both have been the team's top shooters as well, with both having more than 45 made field goals this season. Lauren Sanderson has been the team's top threat from the outside, shooting 34 percent from three-point range. Kallie Hopkins is the team's leading rebounder with 91 total rebounds for an average of seven rebounds per game. Olivia Huneau has been the team's leading playmaker, dishing out 24 total assists this season. Emily Zeh has been a stout defender for the Gators, with 11 total blocked shots on the season. 

Up Next: The team returns home to take on crosstown rival and Empire 8 Conference newcomer SUNY Poly. Tip off from Miga Court inside the Clark Athletic Center on Tuesday, January 28 is set for 5:30pm.