Women's Basketball | 2/18/2024 8:20:14 PM
Top-seed St. John Fisher University will look to win its third consecutive title and fourth in the last four seasons, as the 2023-24 Empire 8 Women’s Basketball Championship begins on Tuesday, Feb. 20 with first round action before semifinal action takes place at St. John Fisher and No. 2 seed Nazareth University on Thursday, Feb. 22 and championship action takes place on Saturday, Feb. 24 at the site of the highest remaining seed.
No. 3 seed Houghton University will host No. 6 Elmira College, while No. 4 seed Hartwick College will host No. 5 Utica University in the opening round Tuesday evening. The winner of Houghton vs. Elmira will take on No. 2 Nazareth in one semifinal Thursday, while the winner of Hartwick vs. Utica will head to top-seed St. John Fisher in Thursday’s second semifinal. The two semifinal winners will meet for the 2024 Empire 8 Championship on Saturday.
The league champion receives an automatic berth into the 2024 NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship, which begins March 1-2.
2023-24 Empire 8 Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament Participants
No. 1 – St. John Fisher (14-2 E8, 21-4 Overall)
No. 2 – Nazareth (14-2 E8, 22-3 Overall)
No. 3 – Houghton (12-4, E8, 21-4 Overall)
No. 4 – Hartwick (9-7, E8, 12-13 Overall)
No. 5 – Utica (7-9 E8, 10-15 Overall)
No. 6 – Elmira (6-10 E8, 11-12 Overall)
The 2023-24 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 X and Instagram (@Empire8).
2023-24 Empire 8 Women's Basketball Championship Schedule
Tuesday, February 20 – First Round (All games at Higher Seed)
No. 5 Utica at No. 4 Hartwick – 6 p.m.
No. 6 Elmira at No. 3 Houghton – 7 p.m.
Thursday, February 22 – Semifinals (All games at Higher Seed)
Winner of Houghton/Elmira vs. No. 2 Nazareth – 5:30 p.m.
Winner of Hartwick/Utica at No. 1 St. John Fisher – 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, February 24 - Championship Final (at Highest Remaining Seed)
Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2 - TBA
St. John Fisher is receiving votes in the D3hoops.com national poll and enters the tournament with a 21-4 overall record, having finished 14-2 in E8 play to share the regular season crown. The Cardinals are outscoring opponents by an average of 76.2-52.1 this season and are out-rebounding opponents by 8.6 per game. Six different Cardinals are averaging at least 20 minutes of play per game and five players are averaging at least eight points per contest. Sidney Tomasso leads the team and is second in the league in scoring, averaging 16.0 points to go along with 6.9 boards and 1.9 steals per game. She is also shooting 78.5 percent from the floor. First-year Joleen Lusk is averaging 14.5 points, a league-leading 9.4 boards and 1.6 blocks per game (tied for second), while shooting 46.4 percent from the floor, fourth in the Empire 8. Claire Kruszka is averaging 10.9 points and a league-leading 2.8 steals per game to go along with 3.1 assists per game. Katie Moravec is averaging 8.3 points per game, while Presleigh Brunner is averaging 8.0. First-year standout Madeline Ramsgard is shooting 47.7 percent from the floor. The Cardinals are looking to win their eighth E8 title in program history.
The Golden Flyers finished 14-2 in league play to share the E8 regular season title and enters the tourney with a 22-3 overall record. Nazareth, 2021 Empire 8 Champion, is outscoring its opponents, 72.1-52.6 this season and are out-rebounding opponents by an average of nine per game. Four Golden Flyers average in double figures, including sophomore Molly Benetti, who is averaging 14.0 points per game, while shooting an E8-best 57.5 percent from the floor. She also leads the conference, averaging 2.7 blocks per game Graduate student Olivia Dobrovosky is second in the league behind Benetti, shooting 51 percent from the floor, while averaging 12.2 points, 5.5 boards, 3.3 assists and 2.3 steals per contest. The 3.3 assists are second in the league. Katie MacLachlan is third with 3.0 assists per game, while adding 11.1 points and 5.0 boards per contest. Kiara Anglin is averaging 10.0 points, 7.4 boards (fourth in the E8), 2.1 steals and just under a block per game, while first-year Sarina McDowell is averaging 9.4 points. Nazareth leads the league, shooting 46.5 percent from the floor.
Houghton earned the No. 3 seed after tying their second-most wins in program history with 21. The Highlanders are 21-4 overall and 12-4 in league play to earn their second consecutive E8 Tournament berth. Houghton is out-scoring opponents, 65.3-48.2 in 2023-24 and hold a 41.8-39.6 edge on the boards. Junior Kayla Camacho leads the Highlanders and is third in the conference, averaging 14.8 points per game to go along with 5.0 boards, 2.3 steals (third in the E8), while shooting 44.7 percent from the floor. Sophomore Crysta Lacrosse, the 2022-23 E8 Co-Rookie of the Year, is averaging 11.8 points, 5.2 boards and 3.5 assists per contest, which leads the conference. First-year Tabitha DeVries is averaging 9.5 points per game, while Trinity Copeland is second in the league, averaging 2.7 steals per game, while pulling down 6.0 boards. Emma Cole is fourth in the conference with 1.6 blocks per game. Houghton is allowing opponents to shoot a league-low 30.8 percent from the floor.
Hartwick finished the regular season with a 9-7 mark in conference play to garner the No. 4 seed. The Hawks are in the E8 Tournament for the third time in last six seasons and are looking for their second league title, having won in 2018-19. Bree Fargnoli leads the team in scoring with 12.6 points per game to go along with 4.7 boards and 2.8 assists per game. She also leads the E8 with 83 made free throws and is fourth, shooting 78.3 percent from the line. Isabella Astorino is right behind, averaging 10.8 points per game and is third in the E8, averaging 7.5 rebounds per contest. She is also second in the E8, averaging 1.6 blocks per contest. Sareena DiCerbo is sixth in the conference with 7.0 boards per game and is averaging 9.6 points.
Utica won its last four league games to earn its way into the Empire 8 Tournament as the No. 5 seed. The Pioneers are looking for their third E8 title and first since 2010. First-year standout Vanessa Hall leads the league in scoring, averaging 17.6 points per game. She is third in the league, shooting 46.4 percent from the floor and second, shooting 79.6 percent from the foul line. In addition, Hall has pulled down 5.2 rebounds per game and leads the team in blocked shots. Hall has scored in double figures in all but one game has hit the 20-point mark 11 times. Hailey Burchhardt is second on the team in scoring, averaging 8.6 points per game, while McKenzie Simmons is averaging 8.2 points.
Elmira is in the Empire 8 Tournament for the second straight season, having advanced to the league semifinals in 2022-23. The sixth seeded Soaring enter with an 11-12 mark in 2023-24. Junior guard Laura Bogota leads the team in scoring, averaging 12.3 points per game and is averaging just under three assists per game. Classmate Neveah Winston is also averaging 10.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. Winston is second in the league in rebounding and tied with teammate Taylor Jung for sixth in the league in blocks per game. Jung is also averaging 6.6 boards per game. The Soaring Eagles are looking for their first E8 title. They were conference finalists in both 2005-06 and 2006-07.
Hartwick and Utica split the regular season series, which Utica pulling out a 68-62 win on its home court on Jan. 23 and Hartwick returning the favor with a 74-53 win at home on Feb. 2. The winner would advance to play St. John Fisher on Thursday. The top-seeded Cardinals won both matchups versus both Hartwick and Utica earlier this season.
Houghton swept Elmira during the regular season, winning by scores of 71-45 and 82-43. The winner would advance to play Nazareth on Friday. The No. 2 seeded Golden Flyers and Highlanders split won both matchups with each team winning on its home court, while Nazareth swept both contests versus Elmira 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.
EMPIRE 8 SOCIAL MEDIA
YouTube –
Facebook –
Twitter –
Instagram