Score: Utica College 65 – Elmira College 51
Records: Utica (5-9, 3-2 E8), Elmira (3-8, 0-3 E8)
Location: Speidel Gymnasium – Elmira, N.Y.
 
ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College women's basketball team fell to Empire 8 Conference foe Utica College by a score of 65-51 Saturday afternoon at Speidel Gymnasium.

Danielle Cleary '18 led the way for EC, as she finished one rebound shy of a double-double with a team-high 14 points and nine boards. Both Rachel Vespucci '19 and Lindsey Heaton '19 posted strong outings in the loss. Vespucci finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season and Heaton finished second on the team with 13 points and registered a team-high six assists.

The Soaring Eagles got off to a quick start as they finished the first with a 16-11 lead, their largest of the game. Cleary led the early charge with five points in the quarter. She capped off an Elmira 7-0 run with a trey to give EC the five-point lead with 1:36 left in the opening 10 minutes.

Utica started to turn things around in the second going on a 5-0 run to tie the score back up at 16-all. The Pioneers' offensive onslaught continued, as Utica guard Ashelyne Babb made a layup to extend its lead to 27-20. On the other side, Elmira struggled to score in the quarter, only scoring six points on their way to a 27-22 halftime deficit.

The Pioneers started to expand their lead in the third, as the margin grew to double-digits, 33-22, just about a minute-and-a-half into the half. The Utica offense was especially potent near the end of the quarter, as the Pioneers went on a 10-1 run starting at the 2:13 mark of the third. The run ended with a Babb three-point play. With Babb's free throw, the lead had grown to 56-39, Elmira's largest deficit of the contest.

EC was unable to pull the score any closer in the fourth quarter, as Utica maintained a double-digit lead for the rest of the game on its way to the 65-51 victory.
 
Turing Point
The Soaring Eagles got out of the gates quickly and built themselves a 16-11 first-quarter lead. Offensively, EC spread the ball around and got open shots. Defensively, the Soaring Eagles held the Pioneers to 11 points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field. Unfortunately for Elmira, the Utica offense started to pick up in the second, as they out-scored EC 16-6. Once Utica started to make its shots, EC struggled to keep up. The programs' field-goal percentages were the biggest factor in the contest, as the Pioneers shot 45.3- percent from the floor, while Elmira was held to 32.1-percent. When you also factor in Utica's advantage in free-throw attempts (25-16), the Soaring Eagles had to fight an up-hill battle from the start of the second half and they were unable to keep up.

Inside the Box Score

• Elmira struggled shooting the ball in the game, going 18-for-56 (32.1%) from the floor.
• On the other hand, the Pioneers shot the ball well, shooting 24-for-53 (45.3%) from the field.
• Neither program shot the ball well from behind the arc, as EC shot 4-for-21 (19.0%) and Utica went 1-for-6 (16.7%) from distance.
• The Pioneers held a slight advantage from the foul line, as Utica made 16-of-25 (64.0%) free-throw attempts.
• Conversely, Elmira went 11-for-16 from the line (68.8%).
• Utica out-rebounded the Soaring Eagles 39-31.
• Both teams finished the contest with 14 turnovers.
• The Pioneers dominated in points in the paint, as they outscored EC 44-20 in the lane.
• Cleary paced Elmira in points with 14.
• Cleary also finished one rebound shy of a double-double with nine rebounds.
• Vespucci recorded a double-double with 10 points and team-best 11 boards.
• Heaton posted a strong stat line with 13 points and a team-high six assists.
• Babb finished the contest with game-highs in points (20) and assists (7).
• Utica's Alaina Tripp posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

News and Notes

• Elmira falls to 3-8 on the season.
• The Soaring Eagles remain winless in E8 play (0-3).
• EC's 14 turnovers are the second lowest that they have committed this season.
• Elmira's two steals are a season low.
• Vespucci logged her sixth double-double of her sophomore campaign.
• With her 10 points and 11 rebounds, Vespucci maintains her double-double average on the season (11.9 ppg and 10.4 rpg).
• Cleary finished the contest one rebound shy of her second double-double on the year.
• Heaton's six helpers are tied for the second most that she has registered this season.
• Four assists are a new career high for Emily Green '18.  

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles continue E8 play when they travel to face Houghton College on Tuesday, January 17th. The game is scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m.