Utica Earns Second Straight E8 Victory

Utica Earns Second Straight E8 Victory

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Utica, NY (1-21-12) – Junior forward Meghan Fiore netted 24 points and grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds as the Utica College women’s basketball defeated visiting Elmira College 82-76 in Empire 8 Conference action Saturday afternoon at the Clark Athletic Center. 

UC has now won two straight and improved to 7-10 overall and 2-4 in conference play.   The Soaring Eagles have now lost two in a row and fell to 6-11 overall and 2-4 in the E8.  Jessica Zoltowski led all scorers with 31 points on 12-of-23 shooting from the floor for Elmira. 

Both teams exchanged baskets over the course of the first ten minutes with the Pioneers clinging to a slight lead.  UC began pulling away from EC as it went on 6-0 run, ending at the 8:12 marker, to earn a 23-16 advantage. The Pioneers went on to increase their lead to 12 points, 41-29, as the first half buzzer sounded after they put together an 18-11 spurt headed into the locker room at the half.

The visitors cut the lead to five points, 51-46, over the first six minutes of the second half as Elmira’s Maria Thannhauser netted six straight points for EC.  Thannhauser finished the evening with ten points and six rebounds.  Over the course of the next 4:49 the Pioneers answered with an 11-4 run to take a 62-49 lead with 9:21 left in regulation. 

The Soaring Eagles would not go down easy as they responded with a 13-4 run of their own to cut the deficit to just 65-62 with less than five minutes to go.  Freshman guard Marissa Kahane was able to convert on two huge 3-pointers down the stretch to help fend off the Elmira charge.  Her first three point bucket came at the 4:38 marker to give UC a 68-62 lead and after Elmira stormed back again, she netted another big three with 1:19 left in the game to cushion the Pioneer lead to four points, 77-73.  Senior point guard Katie McGee and Kahane each netted a pair of free throws in the final 21 seconds to seal the six point victory for UC.  Kahane finished the day with a career-high 21 point effort, while McGee added 16 points and eight assists.  Senior Justine Karst netted 11 points for the Pioneers. 

Alex Balara totaled 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Soaring Eagles.