Score: Elmira College 69 – Wells College 50
Records: Elmira (6-10), Wells (4-9)
Location: Speidel Gymnasium – Elmira, N.Y.

ELMIRA, N.Y. -- Danielle Cleary '18 joined historic company today, as she became the sixth member of the Elmira College women's basketball team to reach the 1,000-point milestone in EC's 69-50 win over Wells College at Speidel Gymnasium. Cleary joined the club in style, as she scored her 1,000th point with a trey at the 8:38 mark of the fourth quarter.

The story of tonight's game starts in the final quarter, as EC entered the fourth up by one, 43-42. The Soaring Eagles and the Express traded shots for three-plus quarters. The game started to swing Elmira's way at the start of the quarter, as EC opened the fourth on a 10-0 run. The run was capped off by the historic 3-pointer from Cleary, which gave the Soaring Eagles a 53-42 advantage.  

Elmira continued the offensive onslaught, growing the lead to a game-high 20 points after two Lindsey Heaton '19 free throws with 1:25 left in game. The Soaring Eagles owned the final quarter, as they shot 9-for-15 and outscored the Express 26-8 in the final quarter.

Both programs struggled to find their range in the first half of play, as neither team shot higher than 27.0-percent from the floor.  Despite the Express holding the advantage in that category, the Soaring Eagles took a 26-22 lead into the locker rooms at the halftime. EC was led by the play of Cleary and Rachel Vespucci '19, as both of them almost posted a double-double in the first half. Cleary recorded a team-high nine points to go along with seven boards. Not to be left out, Vespucci scored seven points and added eight boards.

The close bout continued into the third period, as Wells won the quarter by a slight 18-17 margin. Wells' guard Ashida Cooper led the way for the Express, as her layup with 32 seconds left in the third cut the EC lead to 43-42. Cooper paced the Express with a game-high 28 points.

It was not a given that Cleary would reach tonight's milestone, as she went into the halftime break with nine points. As the third quarter progressed, it became more and more clear that the Rochester, New York, product was not going to accomplish this feat away from Speidel. After a seven-point third, it seemed all but inevitable that Cleary was going to reach her goal. It took her 1:22 into the fourth to hit her 1,000th point in front of her family and the cheering Elmira crowd.

Turning Point
For three quarters, Elmira and Wells battled it out en route to a one-point margin going into the fourth quarter, 43-42. At the start of the fourth, the Soaring Eagles went into another gear, as they scored the first 10 points of the quarter and shot a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor. After this quick offensive burst, EC stormed out to a 53-42 lead with 8:38 remaining. From there the game was in Elmira's hands, as the team had taken all of the momentum in the contest, as the margin would not fall below double-digits for the rest of the matchup.

In Their Own Words...
Head Coach Shannon Howley on Danielle Cleary reaching the 1,000-point milestone…
"It is great for Danielle and a testament to her hard work and desire to win games. She had a lot of teammates help her get there. I am proud of her."
 
Coach Howley on EC's strong rebounding performance...
"Rebounding pretty much dictates how the games are going to go. When we win that category or hang close, we give ourselves a chance to win games."
 
Coach Howley on Elmira's momentum going into Saturday's rematch with Hartwick College...
"Well if we can shoot like we did in the fourth quarter, I like our chances a lot. We have shared the ball well and it showed in the types of shots we are getting. When we knock down some perimeter shots, we are a good offensive team."

Coach Howley on the importance of the Soaring Eagles' defense heading into Saturday's meeting with Hartwick…
"I think our defense tonight was solid after a really good 35 minutes last time out. We will need that again Saturday against a good Hartwick team."
 
Inside the Box Score

• The Soaring Eagles did not finish with the night with their best shooting performance, as they went 24-for-72 (33.3%) from the floor.
• Wells did not fare any better from the field, as it shot 21-for-76 (27.6%) on the night.
• Elmira did better from behind the arc, as the team went 5-for-14 (35.7%) from distance.
• The Soaring Eagles dominated the Express at the free throw line, as they hit 16-of-30 attempts from the charity stripe.
• Wells, on the other hand, only took 11 free throws and made six of them.
• EC controlled the boards tonight, as it outrebounded the Express, 63-47.
• With this advantage in rebounds, the Soaring Eagles were able to turn that into a 36-28 lead in points in the paint.  
• Cleary posted a double-double with a team-high 26 points and 11 boards.
• Vespucci also recorded a double-double on 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
• Heaton also recorded an all-around performance tonight, as the 5-foot-4-inch guard posted 16 points, six assists and six rebounds.
• Freshman Lauren Franklin '20 was a force on the boards, as she finished the contest with 14 rebounds.
• Cooper led all scorers with a game-high 28 points.

News and Notes

• EC's overall record improved to 6-10.
• Elmira's non-conference record now stands at 4-5 on the year.
• Cleary became the sixth Soaring Eagle to achieve 1,000-career points.
• She became the first Soaring Eagle to reach this milestone since Maria Thannhauser '14 did so at Speidel Gymnasium on February 15, 2014.
• Cleary also became the first EC junior to reach this milestone since Jessica Zoltowski '14 did so on February 8, 2013.  
• Vespucci recorded her second-straight double-double and the ninth of her sophomore season.
• Franklin 's 14 boards are a new career high. 
• Heaton posted her eighth consecutive double-digit scoring effort.
• Wells' 27.6 field goal percentage is the second lowest by an EC opponent this season.

 
Up Next
Elmira hits the road to face Empire 8 adversary Hartwick College on Saturday, January 28th. The contest at the Hawks' Lambros Arena is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m.