Elmira at The Sage Colleges
Game Details	Saturday, Jan. 6 | Albany, N.Y. | 4:00 p.m.
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ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College women's basketball team will play its third game in four days on Saturday, January 6, as the Soaring Eagles head to Albany, New York, to challenge The Sage Colleges in Empire 8 Conference action. The contest is slated to start at 4:00 p.m. at the Kahl Gymnasium.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Soaring Eagles suffered a 73-67 setback to E8 rival St. John Fisher on Thursday at Speidel Gymnasium. It was a tightly-contested bout, with Elmira owning a one-point lead, 60-59, with about four minutes remaining. It was at this point that the Cardinals went on a 10-0 run over the next 3:30 to steal the conference victory. Emily Green '18 paced all scorers with 21 points, which is a season high for the senior. Green also tied career-high marks with eight field-goal makes and five 3-pointers. Danielle Cleary '18 chipped in one of her usual fantastic performances, as she scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Rachel Vespucci '19 finished the night with a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with eight points, falling just short of her fourth double-double of the year.
 
ALL RISE
It is no secret that Cleary has been one of the best players to ever don to the Purple and Gold. In Thursday's contest, the product of Rochester, New York, continued her rise up Elmira's all-time leaderboards. Cleary took sole possession of second place among EC's made free-throw leaders with 343 in her illustrious career. She also climbed to fourth place all-time in program history in 3-point baskets (155). Finally, by grabbing nine rebounds against the Cards, Cleary cracked the program's top-10 in career rebounds with 516. Cleary needs just six more boards to ascend all the way to eighth on Elmira's leaderboard.
 
SCOUTING SAGE
In its first season as a member of the Empire 8 Conference, Sage has performed as one of the best teams in the league. The Gators are 6-3 in their first nine games, with all three losses coming by less than seven points. Sage opened its E8 schedule with a thrilling 75-73 win over Nazareth in its most recent contest on Tuesday. The Gators' calling card this season has been their offense, as they pace the conference in assists per game (14.1), while ranking second to Elmira in scoring offense (63.0). Orchestrating this offense is junior guard Emily Parslow, who paces the league in assists per game (4.7) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5). Parslow has not had to carry the team alone, however, as former Skyline All-Conference First-Teamer Genevieve Schoff has picked up right where she left off last season. The senior guard from Little Falls, New York, leads the team in rebounds per game (8.7) and is tied for the conference lead in double-doubles (4).
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Soaring Eagles and Gators have faced off 10 times since the 1990-91 campaign. In those previous encounters, Elmira is a perfect 10-0, winning all but one game by double-figures. The two teams most recently met on January 2, 2013, when Elmira topped Sage by a 67-59 score at the Kahl Gymnasium.
 
UP NEXT
Following Saturday's bout, the EC women remain on the road, as the Soaring Eagles head to Houghton, New York, to challenge Houghton College on Tuesday, January 9. The E8 bout, which will take place at the Highlanders' Nielsen Center, is slated to start at 8:00 p.m.