Score: Utica College 69, Elmira College 63
Records: Utica (8-12, 3-8 Empire 8), Elmira (6-14, 3-8 Empire 8)
Location: Speidel Gymnasium - Elmira, NY

Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College women's basketball team was unable to hold onto a 12-point second-half lead, as the visiting Utica College Pioneers defeated the Soaring Eagles 69-63 at Speidel Gymnasium Friday night.

The loss comes despite a pair of tremendous performances from Danielle Cleary '18 and Lindsey Heaton '19, who paced Elmira with 18 and 16 points, respectively. Cleary hauled in a game-high 12 rebounds to register her fourth double-double of the season. Heaton filled the stat sheet with seven dimes, five boards and one steal.

The Soaring Eagles led the Pioneers for almost the entire game up until the final moments of the third quarter. Utica's Rachel Hunter made a pair of foul shots to tie the game at 42-all, and with only seven seconds left in the quarter, Mary Miceli gave the Pioneers a lead they would never relinquish with a three-point shot.

Late in the fourth, Elmira trimmed a once double-digit Utica lead down to four points, 65-61, with just over a minute remaining on a Heaton layup. The first-year point guard made it a four-point game again with 20 seconds left on the clock at 67-63; however, Utica's Ashley Mayo made both of her attempts from the line to extend the lead back to six.

Turning Point
Turnovers have been EC's Achilles heel all season long, as the Soaring Eagles average over 22 per game in 2015-16. Although the Purple and Gold out-rebounded Utica and finished the game with a better field-goal percentage, EC coughed the ball up 25 times. The Pioneers, on the other hand, did so on only 14 occasions and scored 19 points off of Elmira turnovers.

Inside the Box

• Elmira shot 42.2-percent (27-for-64) from the field, while Utica recorded a 38.1 field-goal percentage (24-for-63).
• EC out-rebounded Utica, 47-to-40.
• The Pioneers attempted 32 free throws but made 17, Elmira finished 6-for-10 from the line.
• Neither team was hot from beyond the arc, as Utica went 4-for-12 and EC was 3-for-18 from three-point range.
• Utica stole the ball 14 times, as the Purple and Gold turned the ball over on 25 occasions.
• Cleary and Hunter each led their respective teams with 18 points.
• Cleary registered a double-double with a game-high 12 rebounds.
• Heaton scored 16 points with a game-high seven assists.
• Rachel Vespucci '19 scored eight points and collected seven rebounds.
• Utica's Alaina Tripp also earned a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

News and Notes

• With the loss, Elmira splits the 2015-16 season series with Utica.
• EC shot above 40.0-percent from the field for only the fourth time this season.
• Cleary's double-double was her fourth of the season and first December 1, 2015, against Clarkson University.
• Heaton's 16 points represent her second-highest single-game total from her rookie season, while her seven assists tied her season high. Her seven made field goals are a season high.
• EC's 47 rebounds are the most since the Soaring Eagles grabbed 60 against Pennsylvania College of Technology on December 3, 2015.
• Tripp's double-double is the third of the season for the Utica sophomore.

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles will play their annual Senior Day game tomorrow against Hartwick College at 4:00 p.m. at the Murray Athletic Center.