ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College women's basketball team welcomes the Stevens Institute of Technology and Houghton College to Speidel Gymnasium on Friday and Saturday, February 16-17, to bring a close to the 2017-18 season. The back-to-back bouts will begin with an 8:00 p.m. showdown against the Ducks.
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LAST TIME OUT
The Soaring Eagles fell just short of a second-half comeback against the Empire 8 Conference-leading Cardinals of St. John Fisher on Wednesday evening in Rochester, New York. After erasing a 16-point first-quarter deficit, EC had knotted the score at 49-all with 6:06 remaining in the contest. It was at this point, however, that an 8-0 run by Fisher sealed a 60-53 win for the Cardinals, their 12th consecutive victory. Elmira was led in the contest by
Rachel Vespucci '19, who paced all players with 16 points on 6-for-11 (54.5 percent) shooting from the field to go along with six rebounds.
Lindsey Heaton '19 also had a well-rounded contest with 12 points, six assists and a career-high-tying four steals.
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SENIOR SENDOFF
Today's contest will mark the end of the collegiate careers of both
Danielle Cleary '18 and
Emily Green '18. With a start today, Cleary will have started an outstanding 100 consecutive games, a streak that spans her entire career. In her time donning the Purple and Gold, the Rochester, New York, native has become the program's all-time leader in made free throws (378), is EC's second-highest career scorer (1,478), and has a place on a few more of Elmira's all-time leaderboards. Green, on the other hand, has made 73 career starts in three seasons as a Soaring Eagles. In that stretch, she has made 94 career 3-pointers, ninth-most in program history.
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HEATON IMPRESSES
With six more assists against the Cardinals on Wednesday, Heaton is averaging an E8-best 4.7 dimes per game, the 47th-highest per-game average in the country. The New Milford, Connecticut, native has been on fire of late, tallying double-digit points in each of the last five games and handing out five-plus assists in three straight. The junior has 107 assists this year, which is tied for the fourth-most in a single season by a Soaring Eagle and are just two shy of reaching her total from 2016-17. Heaton has moved into second place among Elmira's all-time assists leaders with 291 in her illustrious career.
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SCOUTING STEVENS
Coming into the weekend, the Ducks are in the fourth and final spot for the upcoming Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament with an 8-6 league record. This resurgence has been fueled by a recent three-game win streak over the last two weeks, which has also improved Stevens' overall record to 11-12. This turnaround has been the result of an improved offensive attack, as the Ducks have boasted a 78.3 points-per-game average over that stretch. Stevens' highest-scoring game of the win streak was a 96-53 victory over Alfred on February 9, the most points scored by an E8 team this season. Senior forward Megan Brown has had to take on a lot more responsibility this year due to the departure of the reigning Empire 8 Conference Offensive Player of the Year, Kaitlyn Astel. Brown, the defending E8 Defensive Player of the Year, has flourished in her new role, as she paces Stevens in points (13.7), rebounds (9.8) and assists per game (2.9). Brown ranks first in the league in rebounds and second in blocks per game (1.4). Another key component of this offensive resurgence is freshman guard Christina Li, as she tallied a season-high 28 points in the 43-point victory over the Saxons.
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SCOUTING HOUGHTON
After posting a 5-11 record in E8 play last season, the Highlanders own an 8-6 mark this year, which places them third in the league standings. With back-to-back setbacks to The Sage Colleges (75-61) and the Stevens Institute of Technology (74-57) last weekend, February 9-10, the Highlanders' overall record has fallen to 12-11. The Highlanders' offense this season can be best characterized as efficient, as Houghton ranks second in the E8 in field-goal percentage (39.6). The conductor of the Highlanders' offense is sophomore guard Cori Beck, who ranks second behind Heaton in the conference in assists per game (4.3). The team's main scoring responsibilities have been split between juniors Brittany Lenart and Emily Swanson. Lenart is one of just three Highlanders to start all 23 games this season and is averaging a team-leading 11.0 points per game. Swanson, a guard from Bemus Point, New York, has tallied double-digit points seven consecutive contests, which has raised her scoring average to 10.3 points per game.
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