RSC Starts E8 Play with Road Victory
UTICA, N.Y. – Russell Sage College Women’s Basketball slowly pulled away to commence Empire 8 Conference play with a 68-54 victory at Utica.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
17 | 15 | 21 | 15 | 68 |
|
|
18 | 7 | 19 | 10 | 54 |
Team Stats
Utica
| Game Statistics | Russell Sage College | Utica |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (26-58) | (16-46) |
| Field Goal % | 44.8% | 34.8% |
| Rebounds | 42 | 25 |
| Assists | 7 | 8 |
| Turnovers | 14 | 14 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 18 | 12 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 16 | 4 |
| Pts in the Paint | 30 | 16 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 4 | 2 |
| Bench Pts | 16 | 2 |
UTICA, N.Y. – Russell Sage College Women's Basketball slowly pulled away to commence Empire 8 Conference play with a 68-54 victory at Utica.
Junior Kallie Hopkins (Millsboro, DE/Poly Tech) provided the Gators (6-4/1-0 E8), which led for the final 23:37, with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds. The forward, one of four RSC players in twin figures, shot 7-of-16 from the field and tallied two steals and two blocks.
"The team played extremely hard and competed for all 40 minutes," commented Head Coach Michael Branche. "Any time you play on the road in the E8, it's tough, but I love the way we battled and finished strong."
Senior forward Aniyah Kelley (New Castle, DE/William Penn) added 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting and seven boards.
Sophomore guard Jaileen Soto (Phillipsburg, NJ/Phillipsburg) registered 11 points, and senior guard Layla Acosta (Haines City, FL/Haines City), who entered the night second in the Conference in scoring, netted 10.
Junior Vanessa Hall, announced as an E8 Player of the Week on Monday, paced Utica (4-6/0-1 E8) with 22 points. The forward, who entered the contest third in the Conference in scoring, went 5-of-11 from the field and had a 10-of-12 showing at the foul line. She surpassed 1,000 career points this evening as well.
RSC, which led by as many as 17, continues E8 play on Friday at Keuka.
Gator Bites with Papa John's: The 2025-2026 season marks the second with Branche at the helm…The Gators, coming off a trip to the Quarterfinals of the 2024-2025 Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament, combine eight returners with four newcomers on this year's roster…Acosta and Hopkins highlight the returnees…Acosta, a two-time All-Conference pick, became just the tenth RSC player to surpass 1,000 career points in the home win vs. SUNY Cobleskill on December 1…She started the week with 1,047 career points...Hopkins finished last season ranked fifth in the E8 with a 7.6 rebounding average…Acosta was tabbed the E8 Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, November 9…She topped all players with 24 points on 47.3 percent shooting in the season-opening home victory vs. Bard on November 8…Freshman guard Miranda Price (Stillwater, NY/Stillwater) was chosen the E8 Rookie of the Week for the period ending Sunday, November 16…She tallied a game-high 19 points in the home win vs. SUNY Morrisville on November 15…Price went 7-of-9 from the field, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, in her collegiate debut…Acosta was tabbed an E8 Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, December 7…The guard tallied 26 points on 43.5 percent shooting in the home win vs. SUNY Cobleskill on December 1…The senior commenced the week ranked second in the Conference in scoring at 19.3 points per-game.
