E8 Women's Basketball Tournament Field Set
On the final weekend of the Empire 8 regular season the seeding and hosting rights for the 2017 E8 Women's Basketball Tournament were determined.
Stevens Institute of Technology and Ithaca finished for a tie at the top of the standings with a 14-2 conference record forcing tiebreaker critieria to decide the top seed and host. The two teams split head to head in the regular season, each lost once to Hartwick and defeated every other conference team twice. The third criteria is road record verse conference opponents which they both finished with an idential record, resulting in a comparison of NCAA strength of schedule index within region ultimately giving the Ducks the advtange and the top seed.
Hartwick will serve as the No. 3 seed with a conference record of 13-3 including wins over top seeded Stevens and second seeded Ithaca.
St. John Fisher is the fourth seed thanks to 9-7 league record.
The two semifinals matches will take place on Friday, Feb. 24 at Stevens. The two winners will meet on Saturday, February 25 in the Empire 8 Championship with the winner earning an automatic bid and advancing to the 2017 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament.
Friday, February 24
No. 4 St. John Fisher at No. 1 Stevens, 6:00 pm
No. 3 Hartwick v No. 2 Ithaca, 8:00 pm
Saturday, February 25
Championship will begin at 4:00 pm