ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College women's basketball team threatened in the third quarter of Saturday's Empire 8 Conference contest, but the Pioneers from Utica College withstood the rally and prevailed, 67-47, on the newly-dedicated Pat Thompson '75 Court at Speidel Gymnasium.

The Soaring Eagles (4-16, 2-7 E8) entered the halftime intermission down 39-17, but outscored the Pioneers (13-7, 6-3 E8) in the second half by two points, 30-28. Not only did the team shot at a more efficient rate in the second half (39.4%-to-22.9%), EC forced six turnovers in the first five minutes of the third quarter. During that span, the Soaring Eagles scored 11 unanswered points and reduced the 22-point deficit down to 39-28.

That was as close as Elmira could come, however, as Utica settled in and expanded its lead back to 22 points, 54-32, before the end of the third quarter.

The bright spot for the Soaring Eagles was the performance of fourth-year forward Lauren Franklin '20. Franklin paced the team with 16 points and 13 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. The Binghamton, New York, native also dished out four assists and recorded a team-high four steals.

Senior Bridget Yaw '20 added nine points for the Purple and Gold, while first-year guard Mykenzie Malacusky '23 poured in seven points and sophomore Alyssa Waters '22 scored six. Taylor Johnson '23 was responsible for seven of EC's 12 assists, in addition to three points and three rebounds.

News and Notes

• Before tip-off, a ceremony was held in recognition of former Vice President of Athletics and EC Athletics Hall of Famer, Pat Thompson '75, as the court in Speidel Gymnasium was renamed in honor of her 43-year career as an administrator and coach at the College.
• Elmira finished with a slight advantage in steals over Utica, 8-to-7, and made one more field goal, 21-to-20.
• The Pioneers converted 23-of-31 free throws (74.2%), whereas EC was only 3-for-4 (75.0%) from the line.
• Seven different players scored a point for Elmira, led by Franklin with 16.
• Franklin's 16 points are one shy of her single-game career-high, which she set last time out against Sage.
• Franklin has reached double figures in six of her last eight games.
• Johnson's seven assists are a new career-high for the freshman guard.

Up Next
Elmira plays two games on the Pat Thompson '75 Court inside Speidel Gymnasium next weekend, beginning with a 7:30 p.m. bout against Nazareth College on Friday, February 7.