ELMIRA, N.Y. – Behind career-best offensive performances from Nevaeh Winston '25 and Laura Bogota, the Elmira College Women's basketball program recorded a 77-69 victory on Friday in Empire 8 Conference action against Russell Sage College inside Speidel Gymnasium.

Winston finished the contest with 21 points for the Purple & Gold, while Bogota added 17 points. Elmira forward Desiree Roy '25 notched another double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
 
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 77, Russell Sage 69
LOCATION: Elmira, New York | Speidel Gymnasium
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (6-4, 2-2 E8), Russell Sage (6-4, 2-1 E8)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Elmira would race out to an early 6-2 lead in the contest following a layup from Roy before the Gators answered with a run to take a 7-6 lead with just under eight minutes remaining in the first quarter. Sage would go scoreless over the next five minutes as EC used that to take a 15-10 advantage following buckets from Winston and Taylor Jung '25.

Sage would hit a trey to open the second quarter and knot the score 15-15 before the Soaring Eagles answered with a 4-0 run to make it 19-15 with just over nine minutes to play. Jung drained a 3-pointer to break a 24-24 tie for the Purple & Gold at the 6:45 mark, while Bogota sank a trey of her own midway through the frame to put EC ahead 30-26.

A key 7-0 run late in the quarter helped EC to take a 36-32 lead with just over a minute to play but would see the Gators hit a pair of treys in the final minute of action to send the game into the half tied 38-38.

Elmira would lead by as many as 10 points midway through the third quarter as Jung closed a run for the Purple & Gold with a 3-pointer off a feed from Bogota to make it 52-42 with 5:02 left to play. The Gators would not go away quietly in the contest as Sage scored the final nine points to trim a 10-point deficit into a 54-53 Elmira advantage before the buzzer.

Both teams would trade the lead early in the fourth quarter before the Soaring Eagles opened up a 64-57 lead following a bucket by Winston after a steal and a fastbreak with 4:21 left on the clock. EC pushed its lead to 69-60 with just over two minutes left on the clock after Taylor Albrecht '22 hit a jumper. The Gators made one final push as they trimmed the deficit to 69-66 with just over a minute to play before Elmira would close out the victory from the free-throw line down the stretch.

Elmira finished the contest 29-of-59 from the field and 14-of-23 from the charity stripe. The Soaring Eagles also held a strong advantage on the boards as EC finished with a 40-26 edge in rebounds, including 14 on the offensive side of the court.

UP NEXT:
The Soaring Eagles return to the court on Saturday as they look for their third-straight Empire 8 victory with a matchup against Hartwick College at 2:00 P.M. inside Speidel Gymnasium.