AURORA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College women's basketball team recorded its first win of the season in impressive fashion on Friday night, as the Soaring Eagles rolled Wells College, 57-33.

Although the score in the middle quarters was much closer, the Soaring Eagles (1-1) were dominant in the first and fourth quarters. In those periods, EC outscored the Express (0-1) a combined 30-7. Elmira's smothering defense limited Wells to just one field goal in each quarter, resulting in a shooting percentage of only 10.0% (2-for-20). The Express didn't help their cause, committing 14 turnovers in those quarters as well.

Eight of Elmira's nine players scored at least two points, led by the backcourt duo of Mykenzie Malacusky '23 and Alyssa Waters '22. Malacusky, a second-year guard from Dushore, Pennsylvania, paced all players with a game- and career-high 19 points. Waters finished with a double-double, as the junior from Plattsburgh, New York, netted 13 points with 10 rebounds, six assists, and four steals. Third-year forward Taylor Albrecht '22 contributed nine points and six boards.

Wells put up the game's first points, but after tying the score at 4-4, the Express surrendered 11 unanswered to end the quarter. After coming within four points of the lead at 20-16, Wells once again suffered a lengthy drought. EC closed the half on a 9-3 run highlighted by a last-second trey from Malacusky before the break. Already ahead 42-30 heading into the final stanza, the Purple and Gold gave up just three points in the fourth quarter, silencing any hopes of a comeback attempt.

News and Notes

• Elmira evened its record at 1-1, while Wells fell to 0-1 following its season-opener.
• EC waited 412 days since its last win, which came against Alfred, 59-58, on January 18, 2020.
• The Soaring Eagles had half as many turnovers as they did in their opener at Houghton on March 3 (18-to-9) while finishing with more than twice as many assists (14-to-6).
• Malacusky posted double-digit points for the fifth time in her career while setting a new single-game career-high.
• Waters' double-double is the first of her collegiate career.
• Alyssa Gadoury '23 logged a career-high six points in 17 minutes off of the bench.
• Freshman Emily Sutryk '24 scored all five of her points from the line, as she shot 5-of-6 on free throws.

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles and the Express won't have to wait long to conclude their two-game series. On Saturday, March 6, the two teams will face each other inside Speidel Gymnasium at 1:00 p.m.