ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The Elmira College women's basketball team opened the 2019-20 campaign on the short end of a 66-33 decision on the road against the University of Rochester at the Louis Alexander Palestra on Tuesday evening.

The Soaring Eagles (0-1) struggled to find their shot in their first game of the season, as EC was held to a 22.4 field-goal percentage (13-of-58) while making just one of 14 tries from 3-point range (7.1%). On the other hand, the Yellowjackets (1-0) were 23-of-64 from the field (35.9%) and 6-of-25 (24.0%) from beyond the arc.

Second-year guard Alyssa Waters '22 paced the Purple and Gold with 10 points to go along with three rebounds, one assist and one steal. Senior Bridget Yaw '20 was next with seven points, followed by sophomore Alicia Johnson '22 with four. Taylor Johnson '23, who led all Elmira rookies with 25 minutes on the court, hauled in a game-high eight rebounds and scored two points in her collegiate debut.

Although the Yellowjackets, members of the esteemed University Athletic Association, pulled away, the Elmira woman began the game by scoring six of the first eight points. Yaw drained the first bucket of the night on EC's first possession, and Waters broke a 2-2 tie two-and-a-half minutes into the opening quarter with a jumper of her own. Just over a minute later, Taylor Johnson hauled in an offensive rebound to keep possession and Waters hit a second-chance shot to extend the lead to 6-2.

The lead was short-lived, however, has Rochester closed the first quarter on an 11-2 run. At halftime, the Yellowjackets widened the gap to 32-14.

News and Notes

• Waters, the team's leading returning scorer, reached double figures for the eighth time in her career with a team-high 10 points.
• First-year guard Mykenzie Malacusky '23 made her first collegiate start, netting three points with one rebound in her first game.
• Fellow rookies Taylor Johnson, Ashton Wenzel '23 and Haley Raville '23 also made their debuts off of the bench.
• Johnson led all players in the game with eight rebounds.
• Wenzel scored two points, grabbed two boards and blocked one shot.

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles return to the Southern Tier for their 2019 home opener inside Speidel Gymnasium on Sunday, November 17, when they host Becker College at 1:00 p.m.