Utica, NY (1-5-13) - The Utica College women's basketball team downed Alfred University 82-58 Saturday afternoon in Empire 8 Conference action at the Clark Athletic Center.  The Pioneers were led by senior forward Meghan Fiore (Epping, NH/Epping)'s second consecutive double-double, as she tallied 24 points and 12 boards.  Fiore shot 64.3% from the floor (9-of-14) and freshman Racquel Baudanza (Staten Island, NY/New Dorp) added 16 points for the Pioneers, including a 6-for-7 effort from the charity stripe.  The Pioneers made 21 total free-throws, a stark contrast from Friday night's 11-for-25 effort from the line when UC came away with an overtime victory over visiting Fisher. 

UC improved to 7-6 overall, and more importantly they advanced their conference ledger to 3-1.  The 24 point win tied the Pioneers largest margin of victory this season, and they have now won three of their last four contests headed into a key conference match up against Ithaca College on Tuesday night (6 p.m.). 

Alfred's Harley Cleary led the way for the Saxons with 23 points and six rebounds (3-of-9 from 3-point land).  Shea Oleksa added eight points on 3-of-5 shooting from the floor.  The Saxons fell to 4-6 on the season as well as 0-3 in conference play and they are back on the court Tuesday when they host Elmira.

The Pioneers opened the contest on an 18-11 run in a span of 8:18 behind a balanced scoring effort which included six points from Fiore, four from Alyssa Filkins (Castleton, NY/Maple Hill) and four from Greenwald.  The visitors fired back with a 5-0 run to cut their deficit to just two points, but UC had the immediate answer, in the form of a 9-0 run in just over a minute to push their lead right back to 11 points, 27-16, with 8:02 left in the first half.

UC showed no signs of slowing as it closed out the first half on a 14-5 run in a span of 4:57 to take a 41-23 lead into the locker room at the intermission.  The start of the second half was much of the same as the Pioneers exploded on a 16-0 run in a span of 2:27.  Fiore led the charge with seven points in the stretch, while Brittany Baudanza (Staten Island, NY/Staten Island Tech), Racquel Baudanza (Staten Island, NY/New Dorp) and Marissa Kahane (Sayville, NY/Sayville) each connected on a 3-pointer.  The Pioneers were able to muster their largest lead of the contest shortly after the 16-0 run, as they earned a 68-24 lead with 10:59 to go in regulation. 

Alfred closed out the game on a 19-12 run, but the damage had been done as the Pioneers earned the convincing conference victory.  Seven different Pioneers scored at least five points including Mary Miceli (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle) (nine), Alyssa Filkins (Castleton, NY/Maple Hill) (eight), Brittany Baudanza (Staten Island, NY/Staten Island Tech) (eight),  and Samantha Stayer (Allegany, NY/Allegany-Limestone) (five). 

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