Ithaca Hosts Empire 8 Women's Basketball Championship Friday and Saturday
February 27, 2009
Top-seeded Ithaca College will host what should be a highly competitive 2009 Empire 8 Women's Basketball Championship tournament with the semifinals on Friday and the title game on Saturday. The tournament winner earns the Empire 8 title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship.
The Bombers (17-8 overall, 13-3 conference) open play at 6 p.m. on Friday against fourth-seeded St. John Fisher College (16-9, 9-7). The Cardinals defeated the Bombers 78-60 at St. John Fisher on Feb. 3 and then handed the Bombers their only home loss of the season, 56-45 on Feb. 14.
The second semifinal at 8 p.m. features a rematch of last year's championship game. Second-seeded and defending champion Utica College (19-6, 13-3) faces third-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology (20-5, 12-4). As with the first semifinal, the lower-seeded team in the second semifinal swept the season series. The Ducks won 71-58 at Utica on Jan. 13 and defeated the Pioneers 62-57 on Feb. 15 at Stevens. They are the only two Utica losses in its past 17 games.
All four teams finished 3-3 against the other teams in the tournament field. Ithaca and Utica traded home wins during the season as did Stevens and St. John Fisher. Ithaca posted two comeback wins over Stevens, winning by a total of three points.
The semifinal winners meet at 7 p.m. on Saturday in the final.
The schedule, results, and broadcast information are all available at the tournament website