ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College women's basketball team continues Empire 8 Conference play on Tuesday, February 5, with a road tilt against Hartwick College. The league bout is slated to begin at 8:00 p.m. at the Lambros Arena in Oneonta, New York.
LAST TIME OUT
The Soaring Eagles fell to The Sage Colleges, who are currently second in the E8 standings, by a 63-54 final score on Saturday at the Murray Athletic Center. After outscoring the Gators in both the second and third quarters, EC went into the fourth down just one point, 41-40. However, timely shooting by Sage put a halt to any comeback attempt by Elmira, sealing the league victory for the Gators.
Rachel Vespucci '19 led the Soaring Eagles with a strong two-way performance, as she scored a team-high 15 points to go along with eight rebounds. Also coming very close to posting a double-double was
Lindsey Heaton '19, who poured in 11 points to go along with team highs in both rebounds (9) and assists (7). Rounding out EC's double-digit scorers were
Emily Green '18 and
Danielle Cleary '18, who tallied 13 and 11 points, respectively.
DEFENSIVE EXECUTION
One of the Purple and Gold's strongest attributes this season has been their defensive performance. On the year, Elmira leads the conference in 3-point field-goal percentage defense (25.8), while also ranking second in defensive field-goal percentage (33.9). Saturday's tilt marked the fifth time in EC's last six games that its opponent shot lower than 40.0 percent from the floor. These missed field goals have helped the Soaring Eagles on the glass as well, as they have hauled in at least 50 rebounds in three of those contests.
SERIES HISTORY
The Soaring Eagles and Hawks have battled 61 times prior to Tuesday's clash. In the previous encounters, Hartwick owns a 50-11 lead over its feathered foes after winning this season's first bout by a 67-57 final score at Speidel Gymnasium on January 25. That victory extended the Hawks' win streak in the series to six consecutive games, a streak that dates back to the 2014-15 campaign. It was in that season that Elmira last bested Hartwick, earning a 59-56 victory at Lambros Arena on January 16, 2015.
SCOUTING HARTWICK
The Hawks fly into Tuesday's contest riding a three-game losing streak, which has resulted in a 5-15 overall record. Hartwick has done most of its damage this year in E8 play, as four of its five victories have come against conference foes. The Hawks' struggles can be traced back to their deficiencies on defense, as they rank eighth in the nine-team league in points allowed per game (65.7). With a 58.2 point-per-game average of its own, Hartiwick has not been able to keep pace with many of its opponents. Junior guard Carly Johnson has been tasked with leading this offense, as she paces the team in points per game (16.0), the second-most in the E8. Freshman guard Mary Schoenherr has been another critical component of the Hawks' attack, as she leads the team and ranks third in the E8 in assist per game (4.3).
UP NEXT
The Soaring Eagles remain on the road for a conference clash against Nazareth on Thursday, February 8. Tip-off for the league tilt is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. at the Golden Flyers' Kidera Gymnasium.
