Houghton, NY -- Jessica Zoltowski '14 scored a season-high 31 points to lead the Elmira College women's basketball team to a 67-48 road victory over Houghton College, their ninth win in a row. The win improves EC's record to 10-2, setting the program's best start in over 17 years, eclipsing the 9-2 mark set by the 1997-98 and 1998-99 teams.

The Soaring Eagles led by as many as nine points in the first half and several times looked as if they were going to blow the game open, but the Highlanders were able to keep the game within a few possessions for much of the opening half. After Houghton cut it to a four-point game with 1:21 remaining in the first half, a pair of free throws from Zoltowski and a buzzer-beating jumper from Kelsey Geisler '15 stretched the lead back to eight, 32-24.

Elmira came out strong in the second half, opening with a 13-2 run to break open a 19 point lead. From there the Purple and Gold kept the Highlanders at bay as they maintained a double-digit lead throughout the final 20 minutes. The Soaring Eagles shot 58 percent from the floor in the second half and 57 percent from behind the arc.

Maria Thannhauser '14 was the only other EC player in double-figures, scoring 14 points, 12 of which came in the second half as the Soaring Eagles started to pull away. Liz Forrest '14 matched her season-high with nine rebounds while also contributing seven points.

The Purple and Gold will be back in action on Monday, January 20th when they travel to Penn State-Abington for a non-conference matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.