UTICA, N.Y. – The SUNYIT Women's Basketball Team (6-2) rode a 16-0 run at the start of the second half to defeat local non-conference foe Utica (5-5) on Tuesday, 71-55.

The two teams battled to a 27-27 tie in the first half, but the Wildcats' defensive pressure in the second half proved to be the difference-maker in the game: SUNYIT forced a total of 28 Pioneer turnovers in the game, 16 of which came in the second half.

Customarily, Lyndsey Brognano (Rome, N.Y. / Rome Free Academy) led the way for the 'Cats. The junior shooting guard connected on 11 of 20 from the field for a game-high of 27 points. In the second half, however, it was her defensive contributions that arguably proved most valuable: she recorded 4 steals out of her team's impressive tally of 11.

The most critical stretch of the game for the Wildcats came right at the beginning of the second half. Forward Kayla McNeil (Stillwater, N.Y. / Stillwater) got SUNYIT with a jumper barely ten seconds in, and Brognano stole the ensuing in-bounds pass for a layup. After a quick miss by Pioneer point guard Katie McGee, SUNYIT floor captain Kwanisha Jones (Philadelphia, N.Y. / Indian River) found Brognano for a three-pointer from the top of the arc, and before 30 seconds had ticked off the clock the Wildcats were up by seven, 34-27.

Pioneer guard Katie McGee did her best to keep Utica in it throughout the second half, scoring 16 of her team-high 21 points in the second half, matching Brognano's output for the period. But the Wildcats' defense – especially on Utica leading-scorer, Meghan Fiore, who was held to just 4 points on 2 field goal attempts in the second half – kept her fireworks confined, and over the last 9 minutes SUNYIT never led by less than 10.

SUNYIT now enters the conference portion of their schedule. Their first league opponent will be the Nittany Lions of Penn State-Harrisburg, slated to journey to the Campus Center Gymnasium this Saturday, Jan. 7, for a 3:00 pm match-up to follow the men's contest at 1:00 pm. Admission is free to all.