HAMBURG, N.Y. – The Elmira College Women's Basketball team dropped its first contest of the season as the Soaring Eagles found themselves on the wrong side of a 69-60 decision against Hilbert on Tuesday night.
 
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 60, Hilbert 69
LOCATION: Hamburg, N.Y. | Hafner Rec Center
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (5-1, 0-0 E8), Hilbert (1-6, 0-0 AMCC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Reigning Empire 8 Player of the Week Desiree Roy '25 notched another double-double, finishing with 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Soaring Eagles. Elmira would lead the Hawks for a majority of the first quarter as Nevaeh Winston '25 connected on a free throw to give the Purple & Gold a 14-11 advantage.

Hilbert used a late 4-0 run with time running out to take an 18-15 lead before Roy hit a layup with seven seconds left to cut the deficit to 18-17.

The Soaring Eagles hit a pair of big shots early in the second quarter to keep pace with the Hawks as Olivia Ayres '25 drained a trey, while Taylor Albrecht '22 hit a jumper to knot the score 22-22. Hilbert followed with a 5-0 run to take a 27-22 lead and swing the momentum in favor of the Hawks.

Elmira rallied to trim the deficit to 27-26 as Winston and Albrecht hit back-to-back jumpers with just over six minutes left to play in the quarter. It would be all Hilbert over the final 5:49 of play as the Hawks closed the half scoring the final nine points to take a 36-26 lead into the break.

The Soaring Eagles trailed by as many as 15 points early in the third quarter before Alyssa Waters '22 got things going offensively to help cut into the deficit. Trailing 43-30 Waters connected on a pair of free throws that would spark a 10-0 run for the Purple & Gold. Roy hit a jumper for Elmira with 3:25 left in the quarter to cut the Hilbert lead to 43-40.

Waters would help to keep Elmira within a single score of the Hawks early in the fourth quarter before Hilbert went on a run to extend its lead to 64-54 halfway through the frame. The Hawks would hold their double-digit advantage until the final seconds of the contest as Roy hit a jumper with eight seconds left to make it 69-60.

Waters finished the contest with a team-high 21 points and six assists for Elmira, while Albrecht added 12 points and nine rebounds. Elmira finished 26-of-60 (43.3 percent) from the field and 1-of-13 from downtown, while Hilbert went 28-of-77 (36.4 percent) from the field and 5-of-19 from downtown.

UP NEXT:
The Soaring Eagles are back in action on Wednesday, December 1 for a matchup at home against Juniata College beginning at 6:00 p.m. It will be the first of four consecutive home contests for the Purple & Gold.