ELMIRA COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES
Games 14 & 15: Elmira College at Utica College & Hartwick College
THIS WEEKEND’S OPPONENTS Utica College PIONEERS (6-6, 1-2 Empire 8)
Last Time Out
The Soaring Eagles opened the road trip with a visit to Ithaca College’s Ben Light Gymnasium, where the Bombers handed EC a 90-56 loss. Danielle Cleary ’18 and Rachel Vespucci ’19 each scored a game-high 16 points for Elmira, while the duo also combined for 17 rebounds. Ithaca’s offense was spurred by the three-point shot, as the Bombers finished 10-for-23 (43.5 percent) from downtown. The 10 made treys are the most EC has surrendered in a game this season.
Our Ladies of Mercy Friday, January 15th, 2016 Clark Athletic Center -- Utica, NY -- 8:00 p.m.
Hartwick College HAWKS (4-7, 2-1 Empire 8)
Former high school teammates Cleary and Vespucci have paced the Soaring Eagles since the start of the New Year. In the four games of 2016, Cleary is averaging 13.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. She scored 17 points against Nazareth on January 9th and 16 against Ithaca on Tuesday, marking the first time she registered double-digit points in back-to-back games since December 1-3. Vespucci is averaging 10.3 points and 4.8 boards per game in 2016. In the last three games, the Macedon, NY, native has logged over 28.0 minutes per game. Vespucci’s 16 points and eight rebounds against the Bombers are both career highs. Before coming to EC, the two last played together for Our Lady of Mercy in Rochester, NY, helping the Monarchs reach the 2013-14 Section V Class A Championship Game.
Charitable Donations Saturday, January 16th, 2016 Lambros Arena -- Oneonta, NY -- 4:00 p.m.
2015-16 SCHEDULE (3-10, 0-4 EMPIRE 8)
Day NOV. DEC. JAN. FEB.
Date 13 20 21 24 1 3 9 12 30 4 8 9 12 15 16 19 21 27 30 5 6 9 12 13 20 26 27
Opponent Pitt-Bradford Mount Union^ Case Western^ Hilbert Clarkson Penn College of Technology SUNY Cortland SUNY Potsdam RIT Stevens* St. John Fisher* Nazareth* Ithaca* Utica* Hartwick* Houghton* Alfred* Ithaca* Stevens* Utica* Hartwick* Houghton* St. John Fisher* Nazareth* Alfred* Empire 8 Semifinals Empire 8 Final
Time-Result L, 64-77 L, 71-85 L, 65-81 W, 68-57 L, 55-67 W, 82-47 L, 37-76 W, 61-53 L, 53-87 L, 55-70 L, 47-86 L, 53-73 L, 56-90 8:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m. TBA TBA
Bold Indicates Home Contest *Denotes Empire 8 Contest ^M-Club Classic Tournament
ElmiraCollegeAthletics @ECSoaringEagles ECSportsInfo
ECSoaringEagles
Cleary has taken advantage of her attempts from the charity stripe in her young career at Elmira. Not only did she finish her rookie season with the fourth-most made foul shots in program history (109), the second-year guard currently sits 17th in NCAA Division III women’s hoops and tops in the E8 with 69 this season. Cleary needs six more successful free throws to tie Janna Cunningham ’99 for 10th place all-time in program history.
Series History vs. Utica
Although Utica holds a 17-12 advantage in the series since 2001-02, EC has won four of the last five matchups. The Soaring Eagles and Pioneers split last season’s two-game set, as Elmira scored on a Karli Pochkar ’16 buzzer-beater to claim a 53-52 win in Utica on January 23, 2015.
Scouting Utica
The Pioneers currently sit sixth in the Empire 8 standings with a 6-6 overall record and a 1-2 league mark. At the Clark Athletic Center, Utica boasts a 5-1 record, with the Pioneers’ only home loss coming against Hartwick last time out. Mary Miceli leads the team with 15.5 points and 28 made three-pointers. Ashelyne Babb is second on Utica with a 10.8 point per game average, but has done so by averaging 26.6 minutes per game off of the bench. The Pioneers lead all of the Empire 8 in offensive rebounding with 15.0 per game, but are only seventh overall in boards per game with 38.2, one-tenth less than EC.
Series History vs. Hartwick
The Hawks have a significant lead in the all-time series against Elmira, having won 46 of the 57 meetings between the two programs. Last season, Cleary led EC to a 59-56 win in the first matchup on January 16, 2015, with a team-high 16 points. However, the Hawks earned a 47-46 victory in the second game of the series at Speidel Gymnasium on February 14, 2015.
Scouting Hartwick
The Hawks lost their first four games of the 2015-16 season, but have recovered to go 4-3 over their last seven contests. Hartwick is 2-1 inside the Empire 8 with wins over Houghton, and most recently, Utica. The Hawks are last in the conference in scoring offense with an average of 50.7 points per game, but rank third in defense, allowing just 57.3 points per game to the opposition. Six-foot forward Taylor Vonasek is the only player on the team with starts in all 11 games. She leads Hartwick with 15.5 points per game, while her 36.6 field-goal percentage is the eighth-best in the E8.
Sports Information: Don Sherman (dsherman@elmira.edu); Dan DeCaria (ddecaria@elmira.edu); Travis Larner (tlarner@elmira.edu) Phone: 607.735.1131 Fax: 607.735.1768 Website: athletics.elmira.edu Address: One Park Place, Elmira, NY 14901