Ithaca and Hartwick Ranked in NCAA East Region
The second week of regional basketball rankings has been released and the Empire 8 Athletic Conference had two women's teams ranked in the East Region.
The Ithaca College women’s basketball team (21-2) ranks atop the
NCAA East Region Rankings , while Hartwick (17-6) stands at No. 8. The NCAA regional rankings are based on the same criteria used to select and seed teams for the NCAA playoffs. Ithaca is also receiving votes in the latest USA Today and D3Hoops.com polls.
The Bombers, who clinched the top seed in the Empire 8 Championship Tournament, are on an eight-game winning streak. The 21-2 start to the season is Ithaca’s best in program history.
The Bombers wrap-up regular-season action with back-to-back home games on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 15-16. Ithaca hosts Utica on Friday at 6 p.m. and Nazareth for senior day on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Hartwick closes its regular season on the road with two Empire 8 Conference games. The Hawks play at St. John Fisher on Friday night and again on Saturday afternoon at Alfred.
A victory this weekend in one of their two remaining games against either the Cardinals or the Saxons will give the Hawks a big advantage in the next weekend's Empire 8 Tournament. Hartwick will serve as host of the event by clinching the number two seed as top-seeded Ithaca is unable to host. 'Wick is 10-1 at Lambros Arena this season.