Women's Basketball | 2/29/2020 1:00:01 AM
Top-seed St. John Fisher College and No. 2 seed The Sage Colleges will meet for the 2020 Empire 8 Women’s Basketball Championship at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 29 from Manning-Napier Varsity Gym on the campus of St. John Fisher. The winner of Saturday’s game receives an automatic berth into the 2020 NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship, which begins on March 6-7.
The Cardinals won their seventh game in a row and 20th game of the season in familiar fashion Friday evening in the first Empire 8 semifinal, using stifling defensive to earn a 68-50 win over No. 4 seed and defending Empire 8 Champion Hartwick College. Sophomore Ella Eckert, a 2020 All-Empire 8 first team selection, finished with her 10th double-double of the year including 14 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high eight assists. Julia Mertsock added her sixth double-double of the year with 14 points and 10 boards of her own while Miranda Lynch netted 13 points in the win. Leah Koonmen provided a big spark off the bench with 10 points and three rebounds in 22 minutes.
St. John Fisher was the highest scoring team (71.6 points per game) and stingiest defensive unit (56.2 points per game) in league play this season. Eckert leads the Cardinals in scoring, averaging 14.6 points per game. She also averages 8.6 boards per contest and shoots 46.9 percent from the floor. Lynch is second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.1 points per game, while Julia Mertsock is averaging 11.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, while shooting 48.7 percent.
Sage rallied from an 11-point third quarter deficit to defeat No. 3 seed Utica College for the third time this season, 82-75 in the second semifinal Friday for its first Empire 8 post-season win. 2020 All-Empire 8 first team selection Megan Flynn scored a career-best 28 points and picked up her team-leading 12th double-double of the year after hauling in 17 rebounds. Sammy Pasinella, Kaitlyn Bowman and Gessica Patregnani all added 13 points apiece in the win. with four assists for Sage, while both graduate performer Kaitlyn Bowman and senior guard Gessica Patregnani added 13 points apiece for the Gators. Utica senior Nicolette Conkin, the 2020 Empire 8 Player and Defensive Player of the Year, poured in a career-high 37 points in a losing effort.
Sage is 15-11 overall heading into the E8 Championship game and have won five of its last six games. The Gators have a balanced offensive attack, with five players averaging at least 9.0 points per game and three in double figures. Megan Flynn is one of three E8 student-athletes to average a double-double on the season with 13.6 points and 11.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 52.0 percent from the floor. Kaitlyn Bowman is averaging 11.8 points, 8.2 boards and 5.0 assists per game. Pasinella is averaging 13.1 points per game, while Gessica Patregnani is shooting 46.5 percent from 3-point range.
The Cardinals and Gators will meet for the third time this. St. John Fisher won both previous meetings, 59-58 at Sage on Jan. 18 and 69-57 on its home floor on Feb. 14. Eckert had 25 points and seven boards in the first meeting to lead the Cardinals, while Amy Gardner had a career-high 28 and four steals in the win for Fisher on Feb. 14. Sammy Pasinella scored 24 points for Sage on Jan. 18.
St. John Fisher is looking for its fifth league championship and first since 2014-15, while Sage is looking for its first E8 title.
This weekend's championship schedule is below. For the most up to date information on this year's championship, follow the Empire 8 Conference on Twitter (@Empire8).
2020 Empire 8 Women's Basketball Championship Schedule
Friday, February 28 – Semifinals at St. John Fisher
No. 1 St. John Fisher 68, No. 4 Hartwick 50
No. 2 Sage 82, No. 3 Utica 75
Saturday, February 29 - Championship at St. John Fisher
No. 2 Sage at No. 1 St. John Fisher – 4 p.m.
Admission
$6.00 - Adults
$4.00 - Students and seniors with ID
Free - Children under 12
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.
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