Complete Game Notes

Elmira College at Brooklyn College
Game Details	Wednesday, Mar. 5 - Brooklyn, NY - 6:00 p.m.
Live Coverage	Coverage

Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College women's basketball team is making their first postseason appearance in seven seasons. The Soaring Eagles earned the sixth seed in this year's ECAC Metro Championships and will travel to third-seeded Brooklyn College of the CUNYAC on Wednesday, March 5th. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 6:00 p.m.

ECAC Tournament Berth
After finishing the regular season with a 16-9 record, the Soaring Eagles earned the six seed in the 2014 ECAC Metro Championships. This is the first time EC has qualified for the year-end tournament since the 2006-07 season.

ECAC Tournament History
EC last played in the ECAC Tournament in the 2006-07 season, meeting RPI in the opening round game. The Soaring Eagles fell to the Engineers 74-61. Elmira did reach the ECAC Tournament championship game in the 2005-06 season, defeating Geneseo State and Union College in the process, but fell to Oneonta State in the title game, 79-73. The Purple and Gold were led by former EC standouts Sarah Cote '06 and Kourtney Troutman '08 who had 20 and 15 points respectively, but Elmira shot 33 percent in the second half as Oneonta pulled out the close victory.

Empire 8 Player of the Year
After leading Elmira to their most successful season in seven years, Jessica Zoltowski '14 was voted the Empire 8 Player of the Year. Zoltowski becomes just the second Elmira College women's basketball player to receive Empire 8 Player of the Year honors, the other being Jessica Parker '06.

Where Zoltowski Ranks in the Empire 8
Jessica Zoltowski '14 led the conference in scoring for the third consecutive season, averaging 21.0 points per game, and ranked in the top-10 of five other statistical categories. She ranked ninth in rebounding (6.9 rpg), third in field goal percentage (.435), sixth in free throw percentage (.799), third in steals (2.4 spg), and first in minutes played (36.9 mpg). 

Finishing Strong
Maria Thannhauser '14 has been a formidable number-two scoring option for EC throughout her four-year career, but she hit a rough patch in the middle of this season, averaging 7.6 field goal attempts per game. Following a loss to Ithaca College on January 28th, Thannhauser became more aggressive offensively, averaging 12.8 field goal attempts per game over the final 10 games of the season. The senior averaged 13.5 points per game during that stretch, upping her season average to 11.8 in the process.

Building with the Senior Class
The five members of the Class of 2014 has helped rebuild Elmira College women's basketball. After posting a 5-20 record in their first season, the combination of Jessica Zoltowski '14, Maria Thannhauser '14, Liz Forrest '14, Tempest Black '14, and Breen Loney '14 have helped increase EC's win total each season. Elmira went 8-17 in 2011-12, 9-16 in 2012-13, and have a 16-9 record entering the ECAC Metro Championships. 

Stepping Up
Karli Pochkar '16 received just her second and third starts of the season against Stevens Tech and Hartwick College, but she made the most of her opportunities. She turned in a career-high 15 points and also matched her career-high with eight rebounds against Stevens while playing a season-high 33 minutes. Pochkar did not have the same success against the E8's top team, Hartwick College, but still registered seven points and pulled down two rebounds in 31 minutes of action.