Elmira, NY -- Three members of the Elmira College women's basketball team finished in double figures as the Soaring Eagles cruised to a 73-60 win over visiting Houghton College.  With the win, Elmira improves to 12-4 on the season while the Highlanders fall to 6-12.

Jessica Zoltowski '14 led the Soaring Eagles with another 20-plus point performance as she finished with a game-high 26 points in addition to go along with a game-high six steals, which ties her career best, and also five rebounds.  Maria Thannhauser '14 also had a standout game, scoring 18 points and grabbing another five boards while Alex Balara '15 was the other Soaring Eagle in double-digits, scoring 10 points with eight of those coming from the charity stripe. 

The first half of play was a close affair, with both teams square at 15-15 with 10:59 to play.  However, this would be as close as the Highlanders would get for the rest of the half as the Soaring Eagles used an impressive 20-to-8 run to take a 35-23 advantage, which would eventually turn into a 37-28 halftime lead. 

Zoltowski paced the Soaring Eagles in the first half, scoring 17 of her game's 26 points.  Also credit her and Balara's defensive efforts for EC's success as the two came up with five steals apiece which accounted for 10 of Houghton's 16 first half turnovers.

Elmira would control the second half from the start as the Purple and Gold jumped out to a 49-32 lead, much thanks to a 12-4 run to start the half.  During that stretch, five different EC players registered points, including Balara, whose and-one play sparked Elmira's mini-run.

Houghton would never get close to Elmira for the remainder of the half as EC would go up by as many as 20 points en route to a 73-60 victory.  With the win, Elmira successfully completes the season sweep of the Highlanders.

The Purple and Gold will look to make it two wins in a row as they host Utica College in an Empire 8 matchup tomorrow, February 1st at 4:00 p.m.