Women's Basketball | 7/24/2024 9:47:00 AM
UTICA, NY - Utica University Head Women's Basketball Coach Michele Davis will be one of six members to be enshrined in the Greater Utica Sports Hall of Fame (GUSHOF) this fall.
The organization will hold its 35th ceremony at a brunch at noon on Sunday, October 6, at Club Monarch in Yorkville. Tickets will be $50 for adults and $25 for those under 18 and can be purchased at the CNY Awards located behind the New Hartford Shopping Center.
"I am honored to be inducted into the Greater Utica Sports Hall of Fame," said Davis. "My time at Notre Dame, Herkimer College and the University at Albany has helped me grow into the person and coach that I am today."
Davis has served as the Utica women's basketball head coach since 2000 and has accumulated 299 wins throughout her tenure while leading the Pioneers to Empire 8 championships in 2007-08 and 2009-10. In the 2009-10 season, her team captured the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament victory with a 64-61 first round win over Moravian College.
"I would like to thank my parents, my family, Shelly Pennefather (Sister Rose Marie), Moria Dunn, Coach Hobbes (Notre Dame), Coach Campagna (Herkimer), Coach Warner and Coach Hawkins (UAlbany) for helping to push me, teach me, and help me achieve my goals. Without them and many others I wouldn't be doing what I do today," Davis added.
The Notre Dame High School graduate went on to Herkimer County Community College, becoming two-time National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region III Player of the Year. There, Davis was also a two-time Mountain Valley Conference first team selection, two-time Mountain Valley Conference Player of the Year, and a two-time NJCAA First Team All-American. The team recorded a 59-8 mark over her two seasons, highlighted by back-to-back conference championships as well as top-five national rankings.
Davis' 1,456 career points scored at Herkimer stood as the NJCAA national record for 11 years while the total remains the all-time mark for both men's and women's basketball at Herkimer.
Following her career with the University at Albany Great Danes, Davis was 12th all-time in program history in scoring (735 points) as well as second in scoring average with 13.4 points per game. She also ranked third in program history with 68 blocked shots and 10th averaging 2.22 assists per contest.
Davis enjoyed outstanding seasons in 1995-96 and 1996-97 which placed her on UAlbany's single season record books in a few categories. She poured in the sixth-most points in a season following '95-96 with 377 before scoring the eight-most points in a single year in '96-97 with 358. Her 35.3 three-point percentage in '95-96 is the top mark in program history while her 30.7 percentage from three in '96-97 ranks sixth all-time.
As far as single game records, Davis' 30 in a game is the fifth most all-time while her 27 ranks seventh.
She also captured New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) honorable mention following her first year with the Great Danes before being named an All-NECC Second Team selection after her senior year.
"Thank you to the GUSHOF board and Lou Parrotta for the nomination and induction. I am very proud of my career path. I also want to thank Jim Spartano and Utica University for giving me my first coaching job and helping to support me."
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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