Complete Game Notes

Elmira College at Houghton College
Game Details	Tuesday, Jan. 14 - Houghton, NY - 8:00 p.m.
Live Coverage	Video

Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College women's basketball team will look to pick up their ninth win in a row and eclipse the best start in recent history tonight at Houghton College. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. at the Neilsen Center in Houghton, NY.

Best Start in 17 Years
After winning their eighth and ninth games of the season, the Purple and Gold have matched the best start in recent history, tying the 9-2 mark both the 1997-98 and 1998-99 teams opened with. Both of those teams finished with 20-plus wins, two of the three 20-plus win seasons in EC history.

Best Conference Start Since 2005-06
The Soaring Eagles have opened up 2014 with four straight Empire 8 Conference wins. The 4-0 start is the best start for EC since the 2005-06 season when the women posted a 5-0 record in conference before suffering their first Empire 8 loss.

Never Count Them Out
The Soaring Eagles have trailed by at least six points in five of the eight games during this winning streak (Clarkson, Nazareth, St. John Fisher, Utica, and Alfred), and faced double-digit deficits twice (Nazareth and St. John Fisher). Regardless of the score, these women cannot be counted out as they have put together some impressive runs throughout the year to take control of ball games. On Friday against Utica, the women used a 14-2 run midway through the second half to open up a six point lead and in Saturday's game against the Saxons, EC posted an even more impressive 24-2 run which spanned 6:08 of game-time that turned a six-point deficit into a 16-point lead.

Active Defense
The Soaring Eagles induced 29 Saxon turnovers, including 12 steals, which directly led to 34 points. This is the highest number of opponent's turnovers on the season and is also the highest turnover number since December 15, 2012 when Penn Tech also had 29 turnovers in a 63-42 EC victory. Overall, the Purple and Gold have five games this year in which the opponent has turned the ball over 20-plus times with Elmira winning four of the five.

Back-to-Back 25-Point Games
After a two-game stretch of being the playmaker on the floor, Jessica Zoltowski '14 got back to her scoring ways in a big way this weekend, putting in back-to-back games of 25 points in wins over Utica College and Alfred University. The performances were the sixth and seventh times this season that the senior has eclipsed the 20-point mark in a game and the sixth time Zoltowski has scored 25 points or more.

Thannhauser: the Catalyst
Zoltowski's scoring ability is well-known throughout the league, but in each of Elmira's nine victories, it has been Maria Thannhauser '14 who has stepped up to provide that second scoring option. She has scored in double-figures in each EC victory, but only managed a total of seven points in the two Purple and Gold losses.