Women's Basketball | 11/8/2019 12:55:00 PM
ROCHESTER, NY – Hartwick College will look to defend its Empire 8 Championship title, as the 2019 season gets underway on Nov. 8, with several squads in action. The top four teams will advance to the Empire 8 Championship Tournament, which will take place at the home of the regular season champion and top-seed on Feb. 28-29, 2020. The Empire 8 Champion will receive an automatic berth into the 2019 NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship.
Players to Watch (Sorted Alphabetically by Player)
Cori Beck, Houghton, Sr., G, Monkton, MD/Hereford – Beck earned All-Empire 8 honorable mention accolades last season after averaging 4.5 assists per game.
Rachel Benedict, Nazareth, Sr., F, Brockport, NY/Brockport – The reigning Empire 8 Player of the Year, Benedict averaged 17.6 points and 10.8 rebounds per game in 2018-19, while draining 40 3-pointers.
Lauren Franklin, Elmira, Sr., G/F, Binghamton, NY/Holy Cross – Franklin averaged 6.4 points per game, and 5.9 rebounds per game in 2018-19, while finishing second on the team in assists (61), steals (41) and blocks (17).
Megan Flynn, Sage, Sr., F, Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls – Flynn was among the league leaders, shooting 56.1 percent from the field, while averaging 12.8 points and 8.1 boards per game on her way to earning All-E8 honorable mention accolades in 2018-19.
Leah Koonmen, St. John Fisher, So., G, Fairport, NY/Our Lady of Mercy – Koonmen came on in a big way in the second half of last season to lead the team in points per game (10.0).
Sydney Pryzgoda, Utica, So., F, Freehold, NJ/Freehold – Przygoda led the Pioneers with 14.3 points per game and 11.9 rebounds per game to earn All-Empire 8 second team accolades in 2018-19. She recorded 15 double-doubles, which was 22nd in Division III.
Mary Schoenherr, Hartwick, Jr., G, Unionville, CT/Farmington – Tough floor general was 15th nationally with 149 assists last season (5.3 per game), to go along with 8.1 points and 5.2 boards per game.
Jamie Wilcox, Alfred, Sr., G/F, Forestville, NY – Wilcox led the Saxons in scoring, averaging 12.4 points per game and 6.0 boards per contest last season. She enters 2019-20 just 92 points shy of 1,000 for her career.
Team Capsules (sorted by 2018-19 Standings)
Hartwick
The Hawks are coming off of first conference title in program history and are looking for third playoff berth in four seasons. Hartwick returns Maggie Kirby, who earned E8 Honorable Mention accolades as a freshman last year and junior point guard Mary Schoenherr, who was 15th nationally with 149 assists last season (5.3 per game), to go along with 8.1 points and 5.2 boards per game. Head Coach Katie Marcella led the E8 Coaching Staff of the Year last year, and she was also named the Basketball Coaches Association of New York DIII Women’s Coach of the Year. Hartwick will look to replace 1,000-point scorers and 2019 All-Empire 8 selections Caitlin Corbett and Carly Johnson.
Nazareth
Nazareth returns all five starters from last season’s team that finished second in the E8 standings with a 13-3 conference record. Rachel Benedict, the 2019 Empire 8 Player of the Year, is a force both inside and outside and should be among the top players in the region. The Golden Flyers also return sophomore forward Jadyn Abrams, who averaged 12.6 points per game, senior guard Lizzie Straub and junior center Isabelle Gjonaj.
St. John Fisher
The Cardinals begin the season ranked No. 20 in the WBCA Division III Preseason Coaches poll. Fisher advanced to the 2019 Empire 8 Championship game and return four starters and 12 letterwinners, including sophomore guard Leah Koonmen. The Cardinals will have to replace two-time Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year Erin Hulbert, but also return a pair of promising post players in sophomores Ella Eckert and Mallory Wood. Koonmen led the team in points per game as a freshman.
Sage
Sage finished fifth in the E8 standings last season and will look to make a postseason berth in 2019-20. The Gators return senior forward Megan Flynn and senior guard Gessica Patregnani. After a season away, Kaitlyn Bowman returns to the lineup and has 705 career points to go with her 578 rebounds in 82 games played. Flynn was an All-Empire 8 honorable mention pick, who shot 56.1 percent from the field, while averaging 12.8 points and 8.1 boards per game last year.
Houghton
The Highlanders are hungry to earn a postseason berth in 2019-20 after finishing with 11 victories a season ago. Senior guard Cori Beck will run the offense. She will be joined by two-sport star Brooke Lewandowski, a senior forward and junior forward Hannah Cybart. Beck garnered All-Empire 8 honorable mention plaudits last season, while dishing out 4.5 assists per game.
Utica
The Pioneers return two all-conference players in Nicolette Conkin and Sydney Przygoda. Przygoda notched 358 points and 298 rebounds, while Conkin truly blossomed as a passer and distributor of the basketball at the tail end of last season, averaging 12.1 points per game and 4.4 rebounds, while leading the team with 130 assists. She dished out 17 assists in a game last season. The Pioneers added three freshmen over six-feet tall.
Alfred
Alfred returns eight players from last season, including seniors Jamie Wilcox and Bri Hicks, along with junior Lyndsey McCoy and sophomore Allison O’Toole. Wilcox led the team in scoring a season ago, averaging 12.4 points per game and enters 2019-20 just 92 points shy of 1,000 for her career.
Elmira
The Soaring Eagles will look to get back to the postseason in 2019-20, but will have to replace 2019 graduates Lindsay Heaton and Rachel Vespucci. Heaton finished her career second all-time in assists at Elmira and Vespucci finished second in rebounds. Senior Lauren Franklin fills up the stat sheet on a nightly basis and will be joined by sophomore point guard Alyssa Waters and senior guard Bridget Yaw.
Final 2018-19 Empire 8 Women’s Basketball Standings
Hartwick (23-5, 14-2 Empire 8) – League Champions
Nazareth (18-8, 13-3 E8)
St. John Fisher (19-8, 12-4 E8)
Stevens (17-9, 12-4 E8) *
Sage (12-13, 7-9 E8)
Houghton (11-14, 4-12 E8)
Utica (9-16, 4-12 E8)
Alfred (8-17, 4-12 E8)
Elmira (6-19, 2-14 E8)
*Stevens moved to the MAC Freedom Conference effective for the 2019-20 season
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
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