Alfred, NY -- The Elmira College women's basketball team (9-2, 4-0 E8) used runs of 22-4 and 31-10 to turn what was a close game early on into a 76-58 victory over Alfred University (5-6, 0-3 E8). The 4-0 start in Empire 8 play is the best start since the 2005-06 season when the women posted a 5-0 record in conference games before suffering their first Empire 8 loss.

The Soaring Eagles, with their 9-2 record, have matched the best start in recent history, a mark achieved by both the 1997-98 and 1998-99 teams. Those EC women's basketball teams went on to win 20-plus games, two of the three 20-win seasons in Elmira College history. Today's win also marks EC's eighth win in a row. This is the longest winning streak an Elmira team has had since the 2006-07 season when the women put together a 13-game streak.

Maybe more impressively is the number of come-from-behind victories these women have put together throughout the eight-game stretch. The Soaring Eagles trailed by at least six points in five of the eight games (Clarkson, Nazareth, St. John Fisher, Utica, and Alfred), and faced double-digit deficits twice (Nazareth and St. John Fisher). Regardless of the score, these women cannot be counted out as they have put together some impressive runs throughout the year to take control of ball games. On Friday against Utica College, the women used a 14-2 run midway through the second half to open up a six point lead and in today's game against the Saxons, EC posted an even more impressive 24-2 run which spanned just 6:08 of game-time that turned a six-point deficit into a 16-point lead.

Jessica Zoltowski '14 continued her stellar play as the senior recorded her second-straight 25-point game while adding four rebounds and a team-high three assists. Alex Balara'15 tallied 13 points and five rebounds while Maria Thannhauser '14 registered her eighth-straight double-digit point effort, putting in 12 points on an efficient 6-8 shooting. 

The two teams traded the lead for the first few minutes of the contest until the Saxons stretched it to a six-point game with 9:45 to play in the first half. From there, the Soaring Eagles used another one of their signature runs to take control of the game. EC scored the next 13 points to make it 23-16 and continued to pile it on as the Purple and Gold opened up a 16-point advantage with 3:47 left in the opening half. Elmira maintained a double-digit lead for the remainder of the half and went into the locker rooms with a 36-26 edge.

The second half was nearly all Elmira as the Soaring Eagles just dominated the Saxons on their home floor, holding a double-digit advantage for all but 16 seconds of the final 20 minutes. The Purple and Gold came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders putting together a 31-10 run over the first 12 minutes of the half to break open a 31-point game. From that point on, EC cruised to their fourth consecutive Empire 8 Conference victory.

The women shot 50 percent from the floor, the third time in four games that they have reached that plateau. Elmira also forced 29 Alfred turnovers, the highest total of the season and the most since December 15, 2012 when Penn Tech also had 29 turnovers in a 63-42 EC victory.

The Soaring Eagles will go for their ninth-straight win on Tuesday, January 14th when they travel to Houghton College for an 8:00 p.m. game.