UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's basketball team is set to take on the Holiday Inn Cardinal Classic, hosted by Plattsburgh State this weekend. Game one against SUNY Potsdam on Friday, November 14 is set for 7:30pm, while game two against the host Plattsburgh State is set for 1pm on Saturday, November 15.
Follow Along: For those unable to attend, live video can be found here, and live stats here.
Last Time Out: The team fell in its season opener to Union College by a score of 74-44 on Friday evening. Leading the way for the Pioneers was
Vanessa Hall (Independence, NY/Whitesville Central), who tallied 17 points (7-20 FG, 2-7 3PT, 1-3 FT), with two assists on the evening.
McKenzie Simmons (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook) followed with 13 points (5-13 FG, 3-4 FT), while adding a team high nine rebounds, team high four assists, and two steals on the evening.
Natalie Cornell (Greenwood, NY/Jasper-Troupsburg) managed to secure seven rebounds on the evening, also with a pair of assists and a steal. In her collegiate debut,
Madison LaDuke (Massena, NY/Massena Central) registered a pair of steals.
Scouting Potsdam: The SUNY Potsdam Bears have opened the season at 0-2, falling in both of their opening weekend games to RPI and St. Lawrence. As a team, the Bears have been outscored by opponents by over 18 points per game so far this season, with 65 points per game allowed to opponents through the opening weekend. Leading the Bears scoring efforts has been DaeLynn Alcock, who averaged 16.5 points per game in the Bears' two outings. Kiera Baxter has also helped lead the Bears through the opening weekend, averaging 12 points per game. Alcock has been the Bears leading rebounder as well, averaging 7.5 rebounds per game, while Emily Smith is not far behind with an average of five. Sara Richards has been the team's top playmaker, dishing out a team high four assists while Alcock leads the team in both steals and blocks with six and two, respectively. All time against the Bears, the Pioneers sport a 12-2 record, with the Pioneers going 8-2 in the least 10 matchups. When the two teams squared off last season, the Pioneers fell to the Bears in a tightly contested matchup 55-50.
A Look at Plattsburgh: The Plattsburgh State Cardinals took their season opening matchup by a score of 60-56 against RPI. Jaden Wilson led the Cardinals with 20 points in the opening matchup while shooting .538 from the floor, and .571 from three point range. Imani Walcott also helped lead the Cardinals scoring efforts with 13 points on .417 shooting from the floor. Walcott led the Cardinals rebounding efforts with a team high 15 in the opening contest while Rosie Sculco put together a team second best seven. Julia Greek was the biggest playmaker for the Cardinals, dishing out a team high eight assists. On defense, Sculco led the Cardinals with a pair of steals, while Walcott registered three blocks. All time against the Pioneers, Utica is 1-2. In last season's matchup, the Pioneers fell by a score of 67-40.
Up Next: The Pioneers remain on the road, taking on the Westfield State Tournament, hosted by Westfield State. Game one against the host is set for 5:30pm on Friday, November 21.
