Women's Basketball | 2/20/2025 1:55:59 PM
SUNY Brockport, SUNY Geneseo, St. John Fisher University, Nazareth University, Russell Sage College, Houghton University, Alfred University, and Elmira College will battle for the 2024-25 Empire 8 Women’s Basketball Championship, which starts on Saturday, Feb. 22 and wraps up Saturday, March 1, with all games played at the higher seed.
All eight teams will be in action for opening round play on Saturday, Feb. 22, as No. 1 Brockport will host No. 8 Elmira, No. 2 Geneseo hosts No. 7 Alfred, No. 6 Houghton travels to take on No. 3 St. John Fisher and No. 5 Russell Sage heads west to face No. 4 Nazareth. The winner of Brockport vs. Elmira will take on the winner of Nazareth vs. Russell Sage on Wednesday, Feb. 26, while the winner of Geneseo vs. Alfred will face the winner of St. John Fisher vs. Houghton, also on Wednesday. The two semifinal winners will meet for the 2025 Empire 8 Championship on Saturday, March 1 at a time to be determined.
The league champion receives an automatic berth into the 2025 NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship, which begins March 7-8.
2024-25 Empire 8 Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament Participants
No. 1 – SUNY Brockport (15-1 E8, 22-3 Overall)
No. 2 – SUNY Geneseo (14-2 E8, 19-6 Overall)
No. 3 – St. John Fisher (13-3 E8, 18-7 Overall)
No. 4 – Nazareth (13-3, E8, 19-6 Overall)
No. 5 – Russell Sage (9-7 E8, 11-14 Overall)
No. 6 – Houghton (8-8 E8, 17-8 Overall)
No. 7 – Alfred (7-9 E8, 13-12 Overall
No. 8 – Elmira (6-10 E8, 12-13 Overall)
The 2024-25 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).
2024-25 Empire 8 Women's Basketball Championship Schedule
Saturday, February 22 – First Round (All games at Higher Seed)
No. 8 Elmira at No. 1 SUNY Brockport – 2 p.m.
No. 7 Alfred at No. 2 SUNY Geneseo – 2 p.m.
No. 6 Houghton at No. 3 St. John Fisher – 2 p.m.
No. 5 Russell Sage at No. 4 Nazareth – 2 p.m.
Wednesday, February 26 – Semifinals (All games at Higher Seed)
Winner of Brockport/Elmira vs. Winner of Nazareth/Russell Sage – TBA
Winner of Geneseo/Alfred vs. St. John Fisher/Houghton – TBA
Saturday, March 1 - Championship Final (at Highest Remaining Seed)
Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2 - TBA
Top-seeded SUNY Brockport won the Empire 8 regular season title with a 75-62 win over SUNY Geneseo to wrap up the regular season on Tuesday evening. The Golden Eagles enter the tournament with a 22-3 record and 15-1 record in league play. They are the highest scoring team in the league, averaging 79.0 points per contest. Junior guard Stephanie Jean-Baptiste leads the Golden Eagles and is third in the league in scoring, averaging 17.8 points per game and is shooting 49 percent from the floor, fourth best in the E8. Kaileigh Hunt is second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, while Cam Tooley leads Brockport with 7.2 boards and 3.9 assists per game. Peyton Maneri leads the Empire 8 with 2.6 steals per game.
SUNY Geneseo is the No. 2 seed in the upcoming E8 Tournament after finishing 14-2 in league play. The Knights, who are 19-6 overall, is second in the league in scoring defense, allowing just 51.9 points per game. Kristin Suydam leads the Knights in scoring and rebounding, averaging 12.4 points and 7.4 boards per game. She leads the Empire 8 in field percentage, shooting 54.6 percent from the floor and is also third in the league with 1.4 blocks per game. Kiley Snow, who recently surpassed 1,000 career points, is averaging 11.6 points per game for the Knights, while Grace Calcagno is shooting 51 percent from the floor with 9.7 points and 7.3 boards per game. Mackenzie Reigle leads the Empire 8 and all of Division III with 196 assists, averaging 7.8 per game.
Three-time defending E8 Champion St. John Fisher enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed with an 18-7 overall record, having finished 13-3 in E8 play. Sidney Tomasso leads the team and is Empire 8 in scoring, averaging 19.5 points and is second in the league with 9.3 boards. She is also shooting 86.2 percent from the floor with a league-best 131 made free throws. Classmate Katie Moravec is fifth in the Empire 8, averaging 16.6 points per game and third in assists, dishing out 4.2 helpers per game. She is also shooting 48 percent from the floor and is second in the league with 110 made free throws. Presleigh Brunner is averaging 10.6 points and 4.5 boards per game. The Cardinals are looking to win their eighth E8 title in program history.
The Golden Flyers finished 13-3 in league play to claim the No. 4 seed. Nazareth, 2021 Empire 8 Champion, is second in the league in scoring, averaging 71.8 points per game. Three Golden Flyers average in double figures, including sophomore Sarina McDowell, who leads the team in scoring with 12.5 points per game on 53 percent shooting from the floor, second best in the league. Junior Molly Benetti is averaging 11.4 points per game and averaging 2.1 blocks per game, second most in the E8. Katie MacLachlan is fifth with 3.7 assists per game, while adding 9.2 points and 4.7 boards per contest. Kiara Anglin is averaging 6.9 boards and 2.5 steals (second best in the E8) and a block per game, while Madalyn Kelly leads the league by shooting 42 percent from 3-point range, while averaging nearly 11 points per contest.
Russell Sage, the No. 5 seed, is in the Empire 8 Tournament for the fifth time in program history. The Gators have won eight of their last 10 games, to finish with a 9-7 league mark. Layla Acosta leads the Gators in scoring, averaging 13.0 points per game. She also leads the Empire 8 in free throw percentage, shooting 88.7 percent from the line this season. Malena Gereau is right behind in scoring, averaging 12.2 points per game to go along with 6.7 rebounds per contest. Kallie Hopkins leads Russell Sage in rebounding, averaging 7.6 per game.
Houghton, the 2024 E8 Championship finalist, earned the No. 6 seed this season. The Highlanders enter the tournament with an 18-7 overall record to earn their third consecutive E8 Tournament berth. Senior Kayla Camacho leads the Highlanders and is fourth in the conference, averaging 17.2 points per game to go along with 6.6 boards, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals. Camacho recently reached the 1,000-point milestone in her career. Sophomore Tabitha DeVries is averaging 12.4 points, 6.6 boards and 5.0 assists per contest, which is second in the conference. Crysta Lacrosse, the 2022-23 E8 Co-Rookie of the Year is averaging 9.4 points and 6.6 boards per contest. Houghton is allowing opponents to shoot just 32 percent from the floor and have surrendered just 51.6 points per game. The Highlanders leads the league in fewest points allowed per game.
Alfred enters the Empire 8 Tournament with a 13-12 mark and is making its third league tourney appearance (2021 and 2023). Jaidyn Chest leads the Saxons in scoring, averaging 13.3 points per game this season to go along with 5.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. Grace Rittenhouse, who recently surpassed 1,000 career points, is right behind, averaging 12.3 points per contest. Natalee Collins leads the Saxons in rebounding (6.7 per game), while Jessica Beehler has a team-best 2.7 assists per game and Jayda Felker is averaging nearly a block per game.
Elmira is in the Empire 8 Tournament for the third straight season, having advanced to the league semifinals in 2022-23 and opening round last season. The No. 8 seed Soaring enter with an 12-13 mark in 2024-25. Senior guard Laura Bogota leads the team in scoring, averaging 11.0 points per game and is averaging just under three assists per game. Classmate Taylor Jung is averaging 8.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, while Neveah Winston is averaging 8.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. Winston is fifth in the league in blocks per game, Amarionah Dixon and Winston are seventh and eighth, respectively, in steals per game. The Soaring Eagles, who are third in the league in scoring defense (57.9 points per game), are looking for their first E8 title. They were conference finalists in both 2005-06 and 2006-07.
Brockport won both regular season matchups against Elmira earlier in the season, 74-53 on Jan. 17 and 71-58 on Feb. 1. Geneseo won both earlier season matchups against Alfred by scores of 75-50 on Jan. 24 and 73-52 on Feb. 15. St. John Fisher earned an 81-62 win at home against Houghton on Jan. 14 in the lone meeting this season, while Nazareth won both regular season contests against Russell Sage, 62-52 on Jan. 18 and 75-56 on Feb. 14.
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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