ELMIRA, N.Y. – Alyssa Waters '22 connected on one of two free throws after being fouled in the final seconds of the fourth quarter as the Elmira College women's basketball program recorded a 70-69 victory against Russell Sage College on Friday inside Speidel Gymnasium.
 
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 70, Russell Sage 69
LOCATION: Elmira, New York | Speidel Gymnasium
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (10-14, 4-11 E8), Russell Sage (11-12, 7-7 E8)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Soaring Eagles found themselves in an early hole as the Gators connected on a 3-pointer at the 7:49 mark of the first quarter to extend their lead to 7-0. Taylor Albrecht '22 opened the scoring for EC as she would hit a pair of free throws to trim the deficit to 7-2. Taylor Jung '25 later cut the gap to 9-5 as she drained a trey at the 5:47 mark.

Nevaeh Winston '25 provided back-to-back layups to give the Purple & Gold a 13-11 lead with just over two minutes left to play before the Gators answered with a jumper to knot the score. EC closed the opening frame on a 4-0 run to take a 19-15 advantage into the second quarter as Desiree Roy '25 would tally both of the buckets.

Waters quickly extended the EC lead to 21-16 with a layup before Sage eventually trimmed the deficit to 23-18. The rally would continue for the Gators as they gained a 25-23 lead with just under four minutes left to play in the quarter. Both teams would trade baskets in the final two minutes before the Soaring Eagles closed the half on a 5-0 run to take a 34-29 lead into the locker room. Olivia Ayres '25 drained a 3-pointer for EC before Roy beat the buzzer with a layup off an assist from Waters.

The Soaring Eagles would lead by as many as nine points early in the third quarter as Waters hit the second of her two free throws to make it 41-32 with 7:02 left to play. EC would also lead 43-34 following a layup from Waters at the 4:34 mark. Sage rallied to trim the gap down to just two points with under two minutes to play before D'Asia Jones '25 finished a layup to close the scoring and give EC a 49-45 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Ayres provided an early spark offensively by knocking down a trey less than a minute into play to give Elmira a 52-48 advantage. Sage knotted the score at 53-53 before taking a lead with just under seven minutes left in the contest. The Purple & Gold battled down the stretch despite trailing by as many as four points with 3:45 left to play.

Trailing 62-61 with 1:57 left to play, the Soaring Eagles would get back-to-back layups from Roy to gain a 65-62 lead against the Gators. EC extended its lead to 68-62 with 29 seconds left on the clock before Sage worked its way back even following a pair of made free-throws to knot the score 69-69. A foul called on the Gators in the final second of action allowed Waters to head to the charity stripe where she would connect on her first attempt to secure the 70-69 victory.

Roy finished the contest with a team-high 19 points to go along with a career-high 17 rebounds for the Soaring Eagles. Roy went 8-of-14 from the field and pulled down six offensive boards and 11 defensive boards. Albrecht tallied 14 points on the night, while Waters added 13 points and a career-high nine assists.

UP NEXT:
The Purple & Gold return to the court on Saturday to host Hartwick College for Senior Day with tip-off scheduled for 2:00 p.m.