Women's Basketball | 2/19/2023 3:14:07 PM
Top-seed St. John Fisher College will look to win its second consecutive title and third in the last four seasons, as the 2022-23 Empire 8 Women’s Basketball Championship begins on Tuesday, Feb. 21 with first round action before semifinal and championship action takes place on Friday, Feb. 24 and Saturday, Feb. 25 at St. John Fisher.
No. 3 seed Russell Sage College will host No. 6 Alfred University, while No. 4 seed Houghton University will host No. 5 Elmira College in the opening round Tuesday evening. The winner of Houghton vs. Elmira will take on St. John Fisher from Manning-Napier Varsity Gym in the first semifinal at 5:30 p.m. Friday. No. 2 seed Nazareth College will take on the winner of Russell Sage vs. Alfred will battle in the second semifinal at 7:30 p.m. The two semifinal winners will meet for the 2023 Empire 8 Championship on Saturday at 3 p.m.
The league champion receives an automatic berth into the 2023 NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship, which begins March 3-4.
2022-23 Empire 8 Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament Participants
No. 1 – St. John Fisher (18-0 E8, 23-2 Overall)
No. 2 – Nazareth (14-4 E8, 18-7 Overall)
No. 3 – Russell Sage (12-6, 16-9 Overall)
No. 4 – Houghton (10-8, E8, 17-8 Overall)
No. 5 – Elmira (10-8 E8, 14-10 Overall)
No. 6 – Alfred (10-8 E8, 15-9 Overall)
The 2022-23 Empire 8 Women’s Basketball Championship schedule is below. For the most up to date information on this year's championship, follow the Empire 8 Conference on Twitter (@Empire8).
2022-23 Empire 8 Women's Basketball Championship Schedule
Tuesday, February 21 – First Round (at Higher Seed)
No. 6 Alfred at No. 3 Russell Sage – 6 p.m.
No. 5 Elmira at No. 4 Houghton – 7 p.m.
Friday, February 24 – Semifinals (at St. John Fisher)
Winner of Houghton/Elmira at No. 1 St. John Fisher – 5:30 p.m.
Winner of Russell Sage/Alfred vs. No. 2 Nazareth - 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, February 25 - Championship Final (at St. John Fisher)
Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2 - 3 p.m.
St. John Fisher is receiving votes in the D3hoops.com national poll and enters the tournament with a 23-2 overall record, having set a league record with an 18-0 mark in E8 play. The Cardinals are outscoring opponents by an average of 80.8-49.9 this season and are out-rebounding opponents by 10 per game. Six different Cardinals are averaging at least 20 minutes of play per game and five players are averaging at least nine points per contest. Sidney Tomasso leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.4 points to go along with 5.1 boards and 1.9 steals per game. She is also third in the league, shooting 47.3 percent from the floor and leads the league with a remarkable 94.3 percentage from the foul line (50-of-53). Kaitlyn Walker is averaging 12.4 points, 8.0 boards and 1.2 blocks per game, while shooting 53.0 percent from the floor to lead the Empire 8. Claire Kruszka is averaging 11.5 points and a league-leading 4.1 assists per game to go along with 2.6 steals per game, third most in the league. Katie Moravec is fourth in the league in steals, averaging 2.5 per game, while averaging 9.2 points per game. First-year standout Presleigh Brunner is averaging 9.2 points per game, while Lauren Nawojski has come off the bench to shoot 55 percent from the floor. The Cardinals are looking to win their seventh E8 title in program history.
The Golden Flyers finished 14-4 in league play and enters the tourney with a 18-7 overall record. Nazareth, 2021 Empire 8 Champion, is outscoring its opponents, 67.5-57.9 this season and are out-rebounding opponents by nearly seven per game. Graduate student Jadyn Abrams, the two-time reigning Empire 8 Player of the Year, is fourth in the league in scoring, averaging 15.2 points per game. She is also shooting 82 percent from the foul line and has drained 42 shots from behind the arc. She has moved into third all-time on the Empire 8 career scoring list with 1,710 points. First-year Brielle Reidinger has averaging 11.1 points, a team-best total of 9.4 boards per game and is an 81 percent shooter from the foul line. Kim Davis is averaging 9.2 points, 7.4 boards and 0.8 blocks per game. Katie MacLachlan, Caley Cornwell and Kiara Anglin are all key contributors as well for the Golden Flyers.
Russell Sage finished the regular season with a 16-9 mark and went 12-6 in conference play to garner the No. 3 seed. The Gators are in the E8 Tournament for the fourth time in six seasons and are looking for their first league title. Sophomore Syrita Faraj leads the league in scoring, averaging 20.0 points, while pulling down 8.6 rebounds per game, fifth-best in the E8 and 2.0 steals per game. Graduate transfer Giuliana Pritchard is third in the league in scoring, averaging 15.4 points per game. She is also second in rebounding (10.1) and third in assists (3.6 per game). Sammy Pasinella is averaging 9.5 points per game and is one of the top long-range shooters in the conference. Both Pritchard and Pasinella both surpassed the 1,000-point milestones in their illustrious careers in February.
Houghton earned the No. 4 seed after finishing 17-8 overall and 10-8 in league play to earn their second E8 Tournament berth in program history and first since the 2017-18 season. Houghton is out-scoring opponents, 62.6-54.1 in 2022-23 and hold a 43.5-40.7 edge on the boards. Three of Houghton’s top-four scorers are first-year standouts, including Crysta Lacrosse, who leads the team in scoring, averaging 11.2 points per game and assists, dishing out 3.5 per contest. Junior Carlee Miller is averaging 10.3 points and 5.8 boards per game, while first-year Kayla Camacho has come on to average 9.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Fellow first year Emma Cole leads Empire 8 in blocked shots by a wide margin at 2.5 per game. She has also grabbed 6.4 boards per game.
Elmira is in the Empire 8 Tournament for the first time since the 2006-07 season. The fifth seeded Soaring Eagles finished 10-8 in league play and are 14-10 overall in 2022-23. Sophomore Desiree Roy is among the Empire 8 leaders in scoring (14.1 points per game), rebounding (9.2 boards per game) and blocked shots (1.5 per game). She is also second in the league, shooting 47.4 percent from the floor. Neveah Winston and Laura Bogota are first and second in the league in steals per game, respectively. Winston is also averaging 9.0 points per game, while Bogota is averaging 7.0 points and 3.4 assists per game. The Soaring Eagles are looking for their first E8 title. They were conference finalists in both 2005-06 and 2006-07.
Alfred has advanced to the Empire 8 Tournament for the second time in program history in the last three seasons. The Saxons are 14-9 overall and finished 10-8 in league play to garner the No. 6 seed. They have outscored opponents by an average of 62.3-57.0 in 2022-23. Leah Harkinrider leads the Saxons in scoring, averaging 13.5 points per game, while draining 57 shots from beyond the arc. Gillian Flint is right behind, averaging 11.1 points per game, while Allison O’Toole leads the team with 3.3 assists per game and Karly Welty is the team leading with just under 2.0 steals per game.
Houghton and Elmira split the regular season series with both teams winning on their opponents’ home court. Houghton pulled out a 55-53 win at Elmira on Jan. 17, while Elmira bounced back to win 53-49 at Houghton on Feb. 7. The winner would advance to play St. John Fisher on Friday. The top-seeded Cardinals won both matchups versus both Houghton and Elmira earlier this season.
Russell Sage and Alfred split the regular season series. Alfred won the opening meeting, 63-49 on its home court on Jan. 7 while Russell Sage returned the favor with a 72-52 win on its home court on Feb. 3. The winner would advance to play Nazareth on Friday. The No. 2 seeded Golden Flyers won both matchups versus Alfred and split with Russell Sage earlier this season.
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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