Elmira College (7-15, 4-9 Empire 8) at St. John Fisher College (18-3, 11-1 Empire 8)
Friday, February 12, 2016 | 8:00 P.M. | Manning & Napier Varsity Gym – Rochester, NY
 
Elmira College (7-15, 4-9 Empire 8) at Nazareth College (15-6, 8-4 Empire 8)
Saturday, February 13, 2016 | 4:00 P.M. | Kidera Gymnasium – Rochester, NY
 
Live Coverage | Game Notes

Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College women's basketball team will hit the road for a pair of games in Rochester, NY, this weekend, as the Soaring Eagles take on Empire 8 Conference opponents St. John Fisher College and Nazareth College.

The Soaring Eagles tip off against the Cardinals at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, February 12th, and will then make the short trip down East Avenue to battle the Golden Flyers on Saturday, February 13th, at 4:00 p.m.

Last Time Out
The Elmira women halted a four-game skid by defeating the Houghton College Highlanders, 68-62, at Speidel Gymnasium on Tuesday, February 9th. The Soaring Eagles used a balanced offensive attack to overcome a 29-22 halftime deficit. The comeback started in the third quarter, as EC outscored the Highlanders 28-11 in that period. Four Soaring Eagles scored double-digit points, led by Danielle Cleary '18 with 15. Emily Green '18 scored 13, followed by Marissa Silverman '17 and Jessica Brooks '16 with 12 and 10, respectively. Lindsey Heaton '19 (nine points, eight assists) and Meghan Loya '16 (seven points, 10 rebounds) also played key roles in the win, which allowed Elmira to sweep Houghton for the third straight season.

Outstanding Offense
EC's offensive effort against the Highlanders was one of the all-around best performance of the season. The Purple and Gold shot at a season-high 47.8-percent (22-for-46) from the field, while also dishing out a season-high 15 assists. The seven made treys and 53.8 three-point field-goal percentage mark the team's second-highest totals in each category, and the 68 points scored were the most scored since the 82-47 rout of Pennsylvania College of Technology back on December 3, 2015. Not only was the offense at its best, but EC received significant contributions from throughout the lineup. Four players scored 10-plus points, and Heaton was one point shy of making it five in double figures. Silverman tied her season high with 12 points, Brooks finished 4-for-4 from the field with 10 points, Green converted a season-high five free throws, and Heaton's eight dimes were a season-high.

Cleary Continues to Climb
Cleary, the reigning Empire 8 Conference Rookie of the Year, has shown little signs of slowing down as her sophomore campaign wind down. Her 15 points against Houghton marked her 18th game of the season with double-digit points. Through 22 games, the Rochester, NY, native is averaging 16.5 points per, which equals 363 total points on the year. Those points allowed her to surpass her total from a year ago and move into eight-place all-time on the program's single-season record list. Based on her scoring average, Cleary may be able to break the 400-point plateau, which would make her only the sixth Soaring Eagle to achieve 400-plus points in a season.

Series History vs. St. John Fisher
The Cardinals maintain a sizable lead in the all-time series, having a 51-13 all-time record against Elmira. Fisher took the 2015-16 series opener 86-47 at Speidel Gymnasium on January 8th.

Scouting St. John Fisher
With an 11-1 record inside Empire 8 play, the Cardinals hold a comfortable lead over Nazareth for second place in the league standings. At home, Fisher is undefeated, and dating back to the 2014-15 season, it has only one blemish on the home schedule inside Manning & Napier Varsity Gymnasium. Despite the superb record, the Cardinals have been skating on thin ice over their last three games, a one-point win over Ithaca College, a three-point win over Naz, and a fourth-quarter come-from-behind victory over Utica College last time out. The Cardinals pace the conference in scoring with 71.8 points per game and have the third-best defense at 58.2 points allowed per contest. Mary Kate Cusack is Fisher's leading scorer with 13.9 points per game. Cusack also has the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the league at 2.4.

Series History vs. Nazareth
The Golden Flyers have won over two-thirds of their matchups against Elmira, as Nazareth leads the series 41-20. That includes EC's 73-53 home loss to the Golden Flyers in the series opener on January 9th.

Scouting Nazareth
The Golden Flyers enter this weekend's matchup third in the Empire 8 Conference standings with an 8-4 league mark and a 15-6 overall record. Naz is second only to St. John Fisher in terms of scoring offense in the E8, averaging 69.8 points per contest. That is largely because of the dynamic duo of Lindsey Kelly and Sam Sorge, who rank first and tied for third, respectively, in individual scoring at 19.0 and 16.2 points per game. Kelly is also the league's leading rebounder and only player averaging a double-double with 10.8 boards per game. She also leads the E8 in field-goal percentage at 64.2-percent. Sorge provides the outside threat, pacing the conference in made threes (2.7 per game) and three-point field-goal percentage (44.9). Nazareth will face Alfred University on Friday to open its season-ending four-game homestand at Kidera Gymnasium.

Up Next
Elmira ends the 2015-16 season on the road at Alfred University, as the Soaring Eagles will look to sweep the season series from the Saxons on Saturday, February 20th, at 4:00 p.m.