Elmira at SUNY Cortland
Game Details	Thursday, Nov. 30 | Cortland, N.Y. | 5:30 p.m.
Game Coverage	Live Video: Video Link
Cortland Links	Roster | Schedule | Stats

ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College women's basketball team will ride a four-game win streak into a non-conference bout against SUNY Cortland on Thursday, November 30, in Cortland, New York. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the Whitney T. Corey Gymnasium.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Soaring Eagles bested the Pennsylvania College of Technology by a 63-49 final score on Monday evening, thanks in large part to a strong fourth-quarter performance. Clinging to a slim 39-37 lead over the Wildcats at the start of the final quarter, EC began to hit its stride by going on a 16-5 run to expand the advantage to a comfortable 13 points, 55-42. This lead proved to be enough, as the Wildcats were unable to cut the margin to below 10 points for the remainder of the bout. The Purple and Gold were led by a strong performance from Danielle Cleary '18, who scored a season-high 22 points to go along with seven rebounds. Lindsey Heaton '19 was the team's next-highest scorer with 14 points. The duo of Rachel Vespucci '19 and Lauren Franklin '20 did most of their work in the post, as they both came very close to recording double-doubles. Vespucci ended the contest with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Franklin (9pts-9rbs) came up just one point and one rebound shy of recording her second double-double of the season.  
 
STARTING TO WARM UP
Following a seven-point outing in the season-opening game against Hilbert College, Cleary has seen her points per game average rise in each subsequent outing. After scoring 15 points in both tilts at the Max Ziel Tournament, hosted by Oswego State, the Rochester, New York, native tallied a season-best 22 points against Penn College, the most that she has scored since a January 3, 2017, matchup against the Stevens Institute of Technology. Following this offensive explosion, Cleary's points per game average has risen to a team-leading 14.8, fifth-most in the Empire 8 Conference. Cleary's recent hot streak has also helped the senior ascend the list of Elmira's all-time leading scorers, as she flew past EC great Martha Bolduc '97 (1,202) for third-place with 1,209 career points, becoming just the fourth Soaring Eagle to crack 1,200 career points.
 
SCOUTING SUNY CORTLAND
The Red Dragons enter Thursday's bout still looking for their first win of the new season after starting the year 0-3. Cortland's win-loss record might not tell the whole story, however, as all three setbacks came against teams that played in last season's NCAA Tournament. The Red Dragons own a six-point loss (68-62) to then-No. 23 Montclair State, a five-point setback (80-75) to FDU-Florham and a 20-point defeat (78-58) at the hands of former E8 powerhouse Ithaca. Through those contests, the team's leading scorer has been senior guard Kerry McHugh, who is averaging 11.7 points per game. McHugh has done a lot of her damage from behind the 3-point line, as she is averaging 2.33 treys per game, fifth-most in the competitive State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC). Junior forward Justine Crespo has made the most of her three appearances of the Cortland bench this year, as she leads the team and ranks ninth in the conference in rebounds per game (7.3).
                             
SERIES HISTORY
The Soaring Eagles and the Red Dragons have met on 22 previous occasions, with Cortland owning a 16-6 lead in the all-time series. The most recent matchup between these two teams was an exciting one, to say the least, as Elmira snapped 15-game winless drought against its non-conference rival with a thrilling 70-68 victory last December. The Soaring Eagles have not won in Cortland since the 1997-98 campaign, when they bested the Red Dragons on their home court by a 75-59 final score.
 
UP NEXT
The Soaring Eagles will return to the court on Sunday, December 3, when they head to Aurora, New York, to challenge Wells College. The non-league bout is slated to begin at 1:00 p.m.