HOUGHTON, N.Y. – The #6 seed Elmira College women's basketball team dropped its Empire 8 First Round matchup to the #3 seeded Highlanders from Houghton University on Tuesday evening, 71-43. The Soaring Eagles, who were victims to a pair of 10-0 first half runs for the Highlanders, were able to find an uptick in second half offense but would ultimately fall. 

Alleney Klunk '24 would lead all scorers with 17 points, which included ten straight for the Purple & Gold to begin the second half. With the loss, the Elmira College season comes to an end.

JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 43, Houghton 71
LOCATION: Houghton, New York | Nielsen Center
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (11-13, 6-10 E8), Houghton (22-4, 12-4 E8)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Soaring Eagles would start in a 4-0 deficit before Laura Bogota '25 hit a three-pointer to get Elmira on the board. From there, a pair of buckets from each team would keep the game a one-score contest, but a 10-0 run for the Highlanders over the next few minutes of play would eventually put the home team ahead by 11. 
• As the quarter wound to a close, the Highlanders would continue its strong play on both ends, concluding the quarter on a 16-4 run to carry a 22-9 lead into the second. 
• To begin the next quarter, Houghton would continue to apply pressure defensively, using a full court press, along with a 10-0 run to begin the frame, which extended their lead to 32-9. For the next part of the second quarter, the Soaring Eagles would begin to find it on offense, finishing the frame on an 8-7 run before entering the locker room down 39-17. 
• In the opening half, the Soaring Eagles would shoot 7-of-24 (29.2%) from the floor, compared to the Highlanders, who finished 16-of-28 (57.1%). Alleney Klunk '24 would lead all Elmira scorers with seven first-half points and four rebounds, while Nevaeh Winston '25 tallied five of her own. 
• Out of the break, Klunk would go on to score the first ten points for the Soaring Eagles, increasing her game total to 17. The Highlanders once 25-point lead just moments into the second half, would shrink to 18 points. 
• As play continued into the fourth, the Highlander lead would remain between 19 and 25 points, with the teams matching each other for buckets. Despite holding the Highlanders to just a 2-of-11 effort from downtown through the midway point of the final quarter, an 18-12 advantage for Houghton in turnover margin saw the home team lead remain intact. 
• For the game, the Soaring Eagles would shoot 11-of-50 (22.0%) from the floor, including a 5-of-21 effort from beyond the arc. For the Highlanders, they would shoot 26-of-57 (45.6%) from the floor. 
• To go along with Klunk's game-high 17 points, Winston would chip in nine points and eight rebounds, while Mia Welty '26 and D'Asia Jones '25 each scored four points a piece.