The sophomore season for Rachel Vespucci '19 can be considered anything but a slump, as the second-year forward finished the 2016-17 campaign in historic fashion. She averaged 12.3 points and 10.9 rebounds while starting all 25 games, making her one of just two players in the Empire 8 Conference to average a double-double this year. Perhaps more notably, she became the first Soaring Eagle to register a double-double season since Sheila Aber '87 did so during her senior season in 1986-87.
In games against Alfred University, St. John Fisher College, and Utica College last week, Vespucci averaged team highs with 18.0 points and 12.0 rebounds per contest. She also had an outstanding week from the foul line, as she converted 20-of-23 attempts (87.0%) from the charity stripe. In the home bout with the Saxons, the Macedon, New York, native netted a career-high 25 points. She finished the season with double-doubles on the road at Fisher (19 pts, 10 rbs) and Utica (10 pts, 15 rbs).
With 273 total rebounds this season, Vespucci ranks fourth all-time on the program's single-season leaderboard. She's in good company, as she trails only Mary Kay Babcock '82 – Elmira's all-time leader in career boards – on the single-season list.
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