SKIDMORE COLLEGE TO HOST LIBERTY LEAGUE FINAL FOUR THIS WEEKEND

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » The Skidmore College women’s basketball team looks to clinch its secondever trip to the upcoming NCAA Tournament with a strong showing this weekend, hosting the Liberty League Tournament at the Williamson Sports Center.

Skidmore, the top seed in the tournament, hosts fifth- seeded Vassar in the first semifinal game at 2 p.m. In the second game, No. 2 RIT will play No. 3 Ithaca at 4:30 p. m. The semifinal winners will meet for the Liberty League title and the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at 2 p.m. Admission is free for all three games this weekend.

Skidmore (16-9, 14- 4 Liberty League) comes into the tournament as the top seed for the second season in a row, despite finishing in a three-way tie with RIT and Ithaca for first place. The Thoroughbreds took care of business in their season series matchups, going 3-1 against the Tigers and the Bombers.

Skidmore comes into the weekend as one of the league’s hottest teams at the right time, winning 10 of the last 11 games. Last weekend, Skidmore clinched the top seed after a pair of road victories, a 6958 triumph at Clarkson on Friday and a 42-31 slugfest against St. Lawrence in the regular season finale last Saturday.

Skidmore is fifth in the league in scoring (60.6) and fifth in scoring defense (56.7). In conference action, the Thoroughbreds were one of the league’s stingiest defenses, with opponents scoring just 53.8 points per game (second best), hitting just 34.9 percent of its shots from the field (third best). The Thoroughbreds are led by former Averill Park Lady Warriors standout Kelly Donnelly, who finishes the season as the league’s best scorer with an average of 19.8 points per game, shooting 47.9 percent from the field. She is also among the league leaders with 2.3 steals per game and 8.8 rebounds per contest. For her career, she needs just five rebounds to become the third player in program history with 1,000. She’d also be the first Skidmore player to score 1,600 points and grab 1,000 rebounds. Veronica Moceri averages 11.4 points per game and is the team’s leading free throw shooter at 83.1 percent. Ari Fustini is among the league leaders in assists at 3.4 per game.

Fifth-seeded Vassar (17-9, 11-7) finished off the regular season with a 17- 9 overall record and 11-7 in the Liberty League. Statically, the Brewers get their most production from Sophie Nick. Nick has started in every contest, leading the team in scoring with 13.5, shooting 47.3 percent from the field and 86.6 percent from the free throw line. She also leads the team in rebounding with 7.1 caroms per contest. Ariella Rosenthal averages 11.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, shooting 32.7 percent from 3-point shooting range. The Brewers are the only league opponent the Thoroughbreds haven’t beaten this season, beating Skidmore 63- 46 on Jan. 9, and 55-51 Feb. 6.

Looking at the other side of the bracket, RIT (20-5, 14- 4 Liberty League) and Ithaca (20- 6, 14- 4 Liberty League) are two other strong contenders for the tournament title as the cowinners of the regular season title. The Tigers and Bombers split their season series after a pair of entertaining contests.

Second-seeded RIT (20-5, 14- 4), last season’s Liberty League tournament winners, leads the league this season in points per game (71.9), field goal percentage (43 percent) and free throw shooting (73.2 percent). Jessica Glaz leads the team in scoring with 14.0 points per game, shooting the rock at a .415 clip from the field. Cori Okada is right behind with 13.0 points per game, while leading the league in assists at 4.0. The Tigers are coming off a strong weekend with a pair of victories against Union and Bard, both by 30-point margins. Skidmore split the season series with RIT, with each team winning on home court. The Tigers defeated Skidmore 76- 61 in Rochester on Jan. 12, while Skidmore picked up a 70- 64 victory in overtime on Feb. 10.

Third- seeded Ithaca (20- 6, 14- 4) comes into the weekend on a seven-game win streak, which includes an 80- 63 victory against No. 6 William Smith in the league quarterfinal game last Tuesday. The Bombers are second in the league in scoring offense (70.5) and field goal percentage (41.5 percent), and leads the league in blocked shots (5.35), steals ( 13.5), and turnover margin (+9.35). Cassidy O’Malley leads the team with 17.8 points and 2.2 blocks per game, adding 5.2 rebounds. Julie Yacovoni leads the team in rebounding (7.8) and is second in scoring (10.1). Skidmore went 2- 0 against Ithaca this season, defeating the Bombers on the road 59- 46 on Jan. 20 and 73- 63 at home on Feb. 2.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

UAlbany, which will play for the first time since Sunday, fell at UMBC 68- 60, which snapped a two-game win streak. UAlbany currently holds fourth place in the America East at 8- 6 and 20-9 overall. Maine has lost its previous four games, the last an 88-76 defeat at UMass Lowell on Wednesday, to stand in the eighth place in the America East at 3-11 and 6-23 overall.

The two teams met in Bangor on Jan. 13, with UAlbany outscoring Maine by 38 in the first half to take an 84- 66 victory. UAlbany has won four of its last five meetings vs. Maine, and 10 of the last 11, to lead the alltime series 22-13.

In their prior matchup, UAlbany outscored Maine 48-10 in the first half.

UAlbany is 12-2 in the SEFCU Arena this year.

Joe Cremo is averaging 20 points per game in his last six contests. With a 30-point performance vs. Holy Cross on Nov. 25, Joe Cremo surpassed the career 1,000-point mark. Cremo now stands with 1,408 career points, having averaged 14.4 points per game in his career.

David Nichols joined the 1,000-point club on Jan. 24 with 11 points at Vermont. His 1,098 career points includes 625 in the 2016-17 year, the second- highest single season in UAlbany history.

Along with Cremo and Nichols, 11 UAlbany players have scored over 1,000 points in the DI era.

Through 29 games, UAlbany has outrebounded its opponents in 23 contests, standing with the best rebounding margin in the America East at +6.4, and 18th in all of Division I. Second in the league is New Hampshire at +6.2. Greig Stire (8.1), Travis Charles (5.3) and Alex Foster (4.4) stand in the top-20 in the America East in rebounding.

With its win at UMass Lowell on Feb. 15, UAlbany secured its fourth consecutive 20+ win season, and fifth in six years. In addition, UAlbany has won at least 15 games in 12 of the past 13 seasons.