Flying High! Hartwick Soars to First Empire 8 Women's Basketball Championship in Program History
Corbett Tabbed Most Valuable Player as Top-Seeded Hartwick Claims E8 Crown
For the first time in program history, Hartwick is the Empire 8 Women's Basketball Champion. The hawks used a strong second quarter and start of the third quarter to pull away from #3 St. John Fisher, winning the game, 69-62, on Saturday afternoon at Lambros Arena.
Caitlin Corbett was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player, as she averaged 16.5 points, five rebounds, three assists, and 2.5 steals over the two games against Stevens and St. John Fisher. The Hawks are now 23-4 and have made the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament field for the first time since 2014. St. John Fisher drops to 19-8, and will have to hope for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
All-Conference First team selection and Tournament MVP Corbett had a great night offensively, scoring a game-high 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting, also leading the team with five assists and picking up five rebounds. Fellow senior and Second Team All-Star Carly Johnson was right behind her, potting 18 points on 5-of-10 from the field (including 2-of-4 from deep) and contributing in every category with three rebounds, two assists, a game-high two blocks, and a team-high two steals. Mary Schoenherr followed up her sensational semifinal with another strong evening, scoring 12 points to go with four rebounds, four assists, and a team-high two steals. Kelly Pine was the only other Hawk in double-digit scoring, following up her 21-point night with 11 more on 5-of-8 shooting and a game-high seven rebounds. Sam Fischer had 14 to lead the Cardinals.
The Hawks will have to wait to find out their NCAA Tournament fate until Monday, February 25, when the NCAA will release the 64-team field for the Division III Women's Basketball Tournament. There will be a live selection show on the NCAA's website beginning at 2:30 p.m.
Friday, February 22
Semifinal #1
No. 1 Hartwick 72, #4 Stevens 52
Semifinal #2
No. 3 St. John Fisher 71, No. 2 Nazareth 55
Saturday, February 23
Empire 8 Championship
No. 1 Hartwick 69, No. 3 St. John Fisher 62
- Information for this release provided by the athletic communication staff at Hartwick -
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 www.empire8.com and https://youtu.be/wzL4HcDoUUQ