ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College women's basketball team looks to avenge its January 3rd loss to Empire 8 Conference foe Hartwick College, when the two programs face off on Saturday, January 28th, at 2:00 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT: The Soaring Eagles used a strong fourth quarter run to best the Express of Wells College, 69-50, on Thursday night at Speidel Gymnasium. In the victory, Elmira's Danielle Cleary '18 became the sixth member of the program's 1,000-point club. The Express and the Soaring Eagles fought it out for three quater, as EC started the fourth with a slim 43-42 lead. Once the final quarter started, Elmira began to shoot the lights out, as it went a perfect 4-for-4 from the field in the next 1:22 en route to a 10-0 run that widened the margin to 53-42. Cleary reaching her milestone was instrumental for Elmira, as her history-making trey capped off the 10-0 run by the Elmira. The Soaring Eagles dominated the final quarter, as they outscored the Express 26-8 in the final ten minutes on their way to the 19-point victory.

CLEARY REACHES 1,000: It was not a given that Cleary was going to reach her milestone on Thursday night, as she went into the halftime break with nine points. After her seven-point third, it became more apparent to the Speidel crowd that she was not going to hit the road without reaching her goal. Cleary did not leave much doubt in the fourth, as she scored two quick treys in under 1:22 to reach her objective. By scoring her 1,000th point, she became the first Soaring Eagle to accomplish this feat since Maria Thannhauser '14 did so at Speidel Gymnasium on February 15, 2014. Cleary also became the first EC junior to reach this achievement since former All-American Jessica Zoltowski '14 did so on February 8, 2013.

CONTROLLING THE BOARDS: The Soaring Eagles set a new season high with 63 rebounds on Thursday. EC has not recorded 63 rebounds since the 2005-06 season, when the program posted 65 boards against Penn College in December of 2005. Thursday's matchup also marked the sixth consecutive game that EC out-rebounded its opponent. After yesterday's contest, Elmira passed Hartwick to move into a two-way tie for second in the E8 in rebounding with Houghton College (42.0 rpg). Rachel Vespucci '19 has been the main catalyst for this rebounding success, as her 11.2 boards per game continues to lead the conference.   

SCOUTING HARTWICK: The Hawks enter tomorrow's contest with a conference-best 7-1 record in the E8, as they own a tie-breaking win over the Ducks of Stevens Institute of Technology. Hartwick has enjoyed a shot break, prior to tomorrow's matchup, as its most recent contest was a 65-55 victory over Nazareth College on January, 21st. As expected from their E8 record, the Hawks are amongst the league leaders in several statistical categories.Hartwick is second in scoring offense (65.2) and third in defense (57.8). Hartwick's main strength is its 3-point shooting, as it owns and the conference lead in 3-point field goal percentage (32.5) and treys made per game (6.6). The Hawks employ a balanced offensive attack, as they have four different players that average 10-or-more per game. Emily Stone leads the group with her 13.5 points per game average. Hartwick's next main threat is senior forward Jacqui Foreman. She sits second on the team in points per game (13.5) and her team-leading 49.7 field goal percentage ranks second in the E8. The 5-foot-10-inch forward has also done well in the paint, as her team-leading 9.7 boards per game is third in the Eb.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Elmira and Hartwick will meet for the 60th time on Saturday. The Hawks own a commanding 48-11 lead in the all-time series. Hartwick has gotten the better of their feathered foes recently, as it has won the last four meetings and 12 of the last 13. The most recent contest between the two programs was a Hawks' 57-35 victory at Speidel on January 3rd of this year. Elmira's last win was on January 16, 2015, in Oneonta, New York, by a 59-56 final.
 
UP NEXT: Elmira returns home to Speidel Gymnasium for an E8 tilt against St. John Fisher College on Tuesday, January 31st. The Soaring Eagles and the Cardinals are scheduled to take flight at 6:00 p.m.