Elmira at St. John Fisher
Game Details	Tuesday, Feb. 13 | Rochester, N.Y. | 8:00 p.m.
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ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College women's basketball team heads to Rochester, New York, on Tuesday, February 13, for an Empire 8 Conference showdown against the Cardinals of St. John Fisher College. The league tilt is slated to begin at 8:00 p.m. at the Manning & Napier Varsity Gym.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Soaring Eagles defeated Utica College by a 63-49 final score on Senior Day on Saturday afternoon at Speidel Gymnasium. After being outscored 20-9 in the first quarter, Elmira went on to win the second, third and fourth periods to secure its fifth E8 win of the season. One way EC was able to pull off the comeback was with strong 3-point shooting, as the team posted a season-high 3-point field-goal percentage of 47.1 (8-of-17). After being recognized in pre-game ceremony for Senior Day, Danielle Cleary '18 came out and paced all players with 16 points in addition to recording nine rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block. Fellow senior Emily Green '18 also had a strong showing with 13 points, three rebounds, two assists and a block. Juniors Lindsey Heaton '19 and Rachel Vespucci '19 came close to posting double-doubles, as Heaton ended the game with 14 points and seven assists and Vespucci had 12 points and eight rebounds.
 
CONFERENCE STANDINGS
With just three games left on the schedule, a look at the current conference standings will shed light on EC's playoff hopes. Fisher and Sage own the top-two spots in the standings with 13-1 and 11-3 marks in conference play, respectively. Things get interesting between third and seventh place, as those five teams are still mathematically alive in the playoff hunt. Houghton, Stevens and Nazareth are all tied for third with eight wins apiece, while Elmira and Hartwick are tied for sixth with five victories. EC will have to win out in their final three games, with two of those contests coming against Stevens and Houghton at Speidel Gymnasium on Friday and Saturday this week.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The series between the Soaring Eagles and Cardinals has spanned 69 all-time meetings, with St. John Fisher holding a 56-13 lead over its feathered foes. SJFC's 73-67 victory over the Purple and Gold on January 4 of this season extended Fisher's win streak in the series to eight games, a streak that dates back to 2013-14 campaign. It was in that season that Elmira last defeated the Cardinals, as it picked up a thrilling 61-59 victory at Speidel Gymnasium on January 4, 2014. EC's last victory against Fisher in Rochester came on January 13, 2012, when the Soaring Eagles downed the Cardinals by a 67-65 final score.
 
SCOUTING ST. JOHN FISHER
In the almost six weeks since St. John Fisher bested the Soaring Eagles at Speidel Gymnasium, the Cardinals have lost just once in their last 13 games. In its most recent bout on Saturday, Fisher defeated Nazareth by 11 points, 68-57, at the Golden Flyers' Kidera Gymnasium. With the victory, the Cardinals clinched the top seed in the upcoming E8 Championship Tournament with a 13-1 conference record (18-5 overall). Fisher's calling card this season has been its suffocating defense, which allows a league-low 56.1 points per game. Senior forward Nicole Robinson leads this defense with an E8-best 2.4 blocks per game, which also ranks 29th in the country. Offensively, senior guard Caroline Robertson paces the conference's second-ranked offense (63.8 ppg) with 13.6 points per game. Junior forward Erin Hulbert has been the team's best rebounder, as her team-leading 8.1 boards per game rank sixth in the league.
 
UP NEXT
The Soaring Eagles return home to the Speidel Gymnasium for a conference clash against the Stevens Institute of Technology on Friday, February 16. The bout, which will serve as EC's penultimate regular-season game, is scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m.