Women's Basketball | 3/2/2022 12:27:00 PM
PITTSFORD, NY – The nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College women's basketball team is set to make its debut in the 2022 NCAA Division III Championship at 5 p.m. on Friday as the Cardinals, who are ranked 20th in the latest D3hoops.com national poll, will take on Rhode Island College in the opening round at Amherst College in Massachusetts.
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PLEASE NOTE: Amherst College has a detailed spectator policy in place and has limited capacity to 50 percent. Spectators will be required to show proof of full vaccination, which includes a booster, or a negative test result from the previous 72 hours. KN 95 masks must be worn at all times. Doors will open one hour prior to the posted game time.
Now that we've got that out of the way, check out some interesting facts and figures for this weekend's pod.
CLASS OF THEIR OWN: Very few teams in Division III basketball have the sort of tradition and pedigree that the Cardinals boast. Leading into this weekend's matchup, Fisher will be making its 16th trip to the NCAA Championship and second in a row as the tournament was not held last season. In fact, since its inception in 1974-75, Fisher has accumulated 1,018 wins – the fourth highest total of any program in Division III history.
SPEAKING OF WINS: We touched on the sustained success of the program in the last note, but this season is shaping up to be included in one of the top years in team history. Through 27 games, Fisher is 25-2 and owns a .926 overall winning percentage. Over the team's 48-year history, only 14 other seasons ended with at least 25 wins with the 2005-06 campaign being the last. The 1987-88 team still ranks among the top teams in Division III history after going 32-1 – one of three Fisher teams to surpass 30 wins in a season.
RED HOT: Entering this weekend's games, three of the four teams at Amherst will be looking to keep their respective winning streaks alive. The Cardinals boast the longest winning streak of the four as head coach
Melissa Kuberka's squad has posted a victory in 11 straight games and 15 of its last 16 games. The Cardinals last fell on January 25th at No. 19 Ithaca, which enters the weekend riding one of the nation's longest winning streaks at 19 games. SUNY Poly is also on a tear of late as the Wildcats have won their last 10 games in all. Rhode Island checks in with a six-game winning streak while the host Mammoths had an 11-game streak snapped by Bates College in the New England Small College Athletic Conference championship last weekend.
ALL-CONFERENCE VIBES: With the regular season in the books, the Cardinals received a boost heading into the postseason as three players were named All-League by the Empire 8 last week. Additionally, Kuberka, along with assistant coach
Hannah Rehbaum, were named the Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the year after guiding Fisher to an Empire 8 Regular Season title. Senior Amy Gardner was named the Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year while Claire Kruszka was named First-Team All-Conference. Junior Kaitlyn Walker was named Second-Team All-Empire 8 while senior Miranda Lynch was voted Third-Team.
FOLLOW THE LEADER: Throughout much of this season, it was a one-horse race in the Empire 8 as the Cardinals were a force on both ends of the floor. Over 27 games played, the Cardinals have led the conference in nearly every category including scoring offense (71.8), scoring defense (52.0), rebounding (48.1), defensive rebounds (30.9), rebounding margin (14.0), field goal percentage (.399), 3-point field goal percentage (.333) and blocked shots per game (4.33) while the team's 16.3 assists on average ranks second in the conference.
FINDING THE RIGHT BALANCE: It always helps having options, especially in a tough matchup like Fisher faces this weekend. With four different players averaging double figures on the season, the Cardinals have proven that it's difficult to take them out of their rhythm. Krukszka has paced the team to this point and is averaging 12.5 points and a team-leading 3.7 assists while Walker has 11 double-doubles this season after averaging 11.7 points and 8.9 rebounds to go along with a .453 field goal percentage. Lynch has been the team's top weapon off the bench as the Webster product, who ranks third all-time in team history with 175 career 3-pointers, is netting 10.5 points per game. Freshman Sidney Tomasso has found a home in the starting lineup and made a case for the conference's top rookie this season after averaging 10.2 points per game. Additionally, Leah Koonmen has worked her into a significant role as the senior averages 7.5 points and nearly five rebounds.
THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: Or in this case a Mammoth. Amherst has almost become synonymous with Division III women's basketball over the last decade with three national championships and eight appearances in the Final Four since 2009. To date, the host of this weekend's pod is ranked eighth in the latest D3hoops.com national poll and will be making its 13th trip to the NCAA Championship in the last 14 years.
SCOUTING RHODE ISLAND: RIC put together a historic season in its own right after posting a 23-5 overall record and the program's fourth overall Little East title following a win over UMASS Dartmouth in the championship game. With 28 games under its belt, RIC leads the LEC in scoring defense after allowing just 49.5 points on average and opponent's field goal percentage (.322) while its 43.3 rebounds on average are the most among any Little East institution.
Offensively, the team relies heavily on Angelina Nardolillo's 10.8 points and 6.8 boards per game while Antonia Corsinetti ranks second on the team in scoring at 9.0 points per contest.
SCOUTING SUNY POLY: The Wildcats are set to make history on Friday as they will be making an appearance in the NCAA Championship after downing Husson to win their first-ever North Atlantic Conference title. Head coach Jessica Skelton's squad currently sits at 20-6 overall and, as we touched on earlier, has posted a victory in 10 straight outings.
The Wildcats ranked third in the NAC in scoring at 68.5 points on average and were among the stingiest defensive fronts in the conference at 54.2 points on average. SUNY Poly is led by a pair of First-Team All-Conference honorees in Lyrik Jackson and Molly Burdick. Jackson led the team in scoring at 20.4 points per game while Burdick was close behind and averaged a double-double at 18.5 points and 12.3 rebounds on average. The team has also seen steady production from Kierra Connor who has posted 10.9 points over 26 games played.
SCOUTING AMHERST: One of the top teams in the country every year, Amherst earned a coveted at-large berth into the Field of 64 after falling to Bates in the NESCAC Championship game. The Mammoths, who are one of three teams from the NESCAC vying for a national championship this postseason, led their conference in scoring defense at 48.7 points per game, but only ranked sixth in the NESCAC in scoring at 61.8 points on average.
At 21-3 overall, Amherst head coach G.P. Gromacki has built a formidable roster, however, with Dani Valdez leading the charge at 11.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game this year. Gabrielle Zaffiro ranks second on the team at 11.0 points on average while AnLing Vera checks in at 10.6 points per contest through 23 games played.
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