Posted: Feb 04, 2019

Spartans Drop Away Game To Red Barons

Erica Helzer was one of two Spartans who scored 13 points against Corning Community College.

The Cayuga Women's Basketball Team was unable to overcome a tough shooting day in a recent road contest, falling to host Corning Community College in Mid-State Athletic Conference play.

The Spartans dropped the first of two games against the Red Barons by a 56-40 margin, putting Cayuga's record at 5-10 overall and 0-5 in conference contests. The Spartans have seven games remaining in the regular season before MSAC postseason play begins.

Coach Jim Alberici praised his team's defensive performance, but said it was tough to win a road game scoring 40 points.

"We really played hard, and it showed on the defensive end. They made less than 37 percent of their shots, and less than 25 percent from the three-point line," he said. "We just couldn't get anything to fall ourselves, and we couldn't catch up in the second half."

Hurt by slow starts in previous games, Cayuga started strong against Corning, closing the first quarter knotted at 12 and trailing by just 5 points at the half. The Spartans were still in range after the third quarter, trailing 39-28, but they couldn't close the gap in the fourth quarter.

Erica Helzer and Loren Clifford both scored 13 points for Cayuga, with Helzer adding 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 steals. Clifford led Cayuga with 9 rebounds, and Hanna Keyser scored 10 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.

Cayuga has five of its last seven regular season games at home before seeding is determined in MSAC postseason play. Alberici said he's hoping the team can build up its confidence and make a push to reach the playoffs.

"We've gone through a tough stretch of games, and the games ahead of us are against some good conference opponents. Hopefully we can get a few wins and get rolling again like we were earlier in the season," he said. "I know we've played well in stretches, it's just a question of putting a full game together and coming away with the win."

Cayuga plays Corning again on Feb. 4, this time at home, before hitting the road Feb. 6 to play Jefferson Community College. The Spartans close the week with a home contest against SUNY Broome on Feb. 9.