ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College women's basketball team will look to end the 2016-17 season on a high note on with a 2:00 p.m. showdown against Empire 8 Conference foe Utica College on Saturday, February 18th. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Soaring Eagles dropped a high-scoring contest to St. John Fisher, 85-71, on Wednesday evening. EC started the game off flat, allowing the Cardinals to rush out to an early 12-3 lead 4:11 into the matchup. Despite falling behind quickly, Elmira regained its composure and went on a 10-4 run of its own over the next 2:51 to cut the deficit to three points, 16-13. The teams traded shots until the score sat tied at 29-all 3:11 into the second quarter. Danielle Cleary '18 kept the Soaring Eagles in the contest with a four-point play that cut an eight-point Fisher advantage back to four points, 42-38, with 1:18 remaining in the first half. The Cardinals started to pull away at the start of the third period, as they went on a 10-0 run to expand their lead to 17 points, 57-40, 5:51 into the quarter. Lauren Franklin '20 sparked an Elmira comeback attempt, starting a 6-0 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters that drew the deficit back to 12 points, 66-54. Ultimately, it proved to not be enough, as EC was unable to reduce the margin below a dozen for the rest of the game. 

VESPUCCI FINISHES HISTORIC SEASON
Standout forward Rachel Vespucci '19 has had a breakout season on the glass, as she could climb as high as fourth-place on EC's list of single-season rebounds leaders. With four more boards on Saturday, she will pass Mary Kay Babcock '82- the program's all-time leading rebounder- for fifth place (261) and with seven more boards, she'll pass Sheila Aber '87 (264) for fourth place. If Vespucci can climb all the way up to No. 4, she would trail only Babcock's top three collegiate seasons. In addition, Vespucci is on the verge of becoming the first Soaring Eagle in the last 15 seasons to average a double-double for the year, as she is currently averaging 12.4 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.

RECORD WATCH
A few other Soaring Eagles are close to program milestones entering Saturday's matchup. Cleary has already reached the 1,000-point plateau this season, but she still stands to move a few more spots up the list of Elmira's all-time leading scorers. With just five more points, Cleary will pass Kourtney Troutman '08 (1,141) for fourth place on the all-time leaderboard, and will also pass Mary Kay Babcock '82 (383) for eighth-place on EC's list of single-season scoring leaders. Lindsey Heaton '19 also stands to climb up EC's single-season assists leaderboard. With five more helpers on Saturday, Heaton would jump into third place, surpassing Beth McKenna '94 (104), Mary Carole Starke '83 (107) and Heather Sheffield '96 (107) in the process.

UTICA AT A GLANCE
After starting the E8 slate with a 3-2 record, the Pioneers have lost nine of their last 10 conference contests. This turbulence has resulted in a 6-18 overall record and a 4-11 standing in league play. Utica's biggest detriment has been its play on the glass, as they rank eighth in the conference, averaging just 37.5 boards per game. The Pioneers' inability to grab boards has also affected their scoring average, as they rank eighth in the E8 in points per game (57.4) and seventh in scoring margin (minus-6.3). Utica has relied heavily on the play of guards Ashley Mayo and Ashelyne Babb all season. Combined, the pair averages over half of the team's points per game average, as Mayo paces the team with 14.7 and Babb sits right behind her with 13.1. Babb has also done well involving her teammates, as her 4.1 assists per game sits second in the Empire 8, just behind Heaton's 4.3 average.