UTICA, NY – The SUNYIT women's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season with a 75-53 setback to local rival Utica College in non-conference action Thursday night.  The Lady Wildcats are now 2-1 on the year, while Utica improved to 4-2.

The Wildcats fell behind early and could not recover, heading into halftime down 45-19.  SUNYIT would outscore Utica 34-30 in the second half, but it would not be enough as the Wildcats went on to suffer the 22-point loss.

Sophomore Lyndsey Brognano (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) led SUNYIT with 16 points while senior Tamara Williams (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) registered 12 points and eight rebounds.  Freshman Abbey Hanehan (Stillwater, NY/Stillwater) collected six points, four boards and a team-best three steals in 16 minutes off the bench.

Jessica Berry posted a double-double with 31 points and 14 rebounds for Utica, while Meghan Fiore added 19 points.

The Wildcats will look to rebound this weekend when they head to Pennsylvania for a pair of NEAC contests.  They will first take on Penn State Berks at 1:00 pm Saturday before squaring off against Penn State Abington at 2:00 pm Sunday. 

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