Women's Basketball | 2/25/2026 10:29:33 PM
No. 3 seed Houghton University (22-5) and No. 4 seed SUNY Geneseo (19-8) advanced to the 2026 Empire 8 Women's Basketball Tournament Championship game after earning semifinal victories on Wednesday, February 25. Houghton rolled to a 66-48 win over No. 7 Elmira College in one semifinal, while SUNY Geneseo earned a 54-48 win over top-seed Nazareth University in the other semifinal.
Houghton will host Geneseo at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28 for the Empire 8 Championship, with the winner earning an automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship Tournament, which begins March 6-7. Houghton, who recently advanced to the Empire 8 Championship game in 2024, is looking for its first league title, while Geneseo is looking to repeat as Empire 8 Champions.
Houghton handed Geneseo its first Empire 8 loss of the 2025-26 season in the lone regular season between the two schools, 77-53 on Jan. 24. Houghton out-scored Geneseo in each quarter of that contest, pulling away with a 19-10 spurt in the third quarter. Tabitha DeVries led all scorers with 21 points in the win.
NO. 3 HOUGHTON 64, NO. 7 ELMIRA 48
For the second time in the past three years, the Houghton Highlanders women's basketball team is headed to the Empire 8 championship game. This time, though, they will host. The Highlanders took care of business on Wednesday night, dominating the middle two quarters as they defeated the No. 7 seed Elmira Soaring Eagles, who had knocked off #2 seed Brockport last Saturday.
Houghton outscored the Soaring Eagles by 17 points in the second and third quarters, giving them enough cushion to pull out their 22nd win of the year. Wih Geneseo defeating Nazareth, this allows the Highlanders to host the Empire 8 championship game for the first time in school history. Houghton improved to 22-5 this season, while Elmira had its season end with a 13-14 mark.
Houghton outrebounded Elmira, 46-22. The Highlanders are now two wins away from tying the most wins in a single season (24 – 1998-99) in school history, and have won more games over any four-year span (81) in Houghton women's basketball history.
Tabitha DeVries collected 17 points and 12 rebounds, notching her fifth double-double of the season. She is now only 18 points shy of 1,000 for her three-year career.
Crysta LaCrosse posted 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
Already the Houghton career-leader in assists (432), LaCrosse became the only woman to currently rank in Houghton's top-10 in points, assists, rebounds and steals. She now has 1,194 career points, passing Stacia Dagwell (1988-92) for eighth place on the all-time scoring list, and is now only three points behind seventh-place holder Angela Layne (1999-03). LaCrosse, who also ranks eighth all-time in steals, passed Jack Carlson (1987-89) tonight for 10th place in career rebounds (575). She is also only six assists away from ranking third in assists in Empire 8 history.
Karina Crouse set another personal-best, scoring 15 points, two steals and five rebounds, the latter of which put her over 100 for the season. Crouse hit back-to-back three in the first quarter that kick-started the Houghton offense. She has reached double-digit scoring six times this season, but has scored 27 points in the Highlanders' two playoff games.
Emma Ryan led Elmira with 16 points and five boards.
NO. 4 SUNY GENESEO 54, NO. 1 NAZARETH 48
he SUNY Geneseo women's basketball punched its ticket to the Empire 8 Championship on Wednesday night, clinching a 54-48 victory over the top-seeded Nazareth Golden Flyers. With the win, the Knights improve to 19-8 overall. Nazareth fell to 22-5 overal
The Knights got on the board early in the first quarter, as
Grace Galgano knocked down a pair of free throws in the opening minute. The teams continued to trade baskets down the stretch, keeping it close in a low-scoring frame. By the end of the quarter, Nazareth held a 11-9 advantage over Geneseo.
Geneseo found momentum to begin the second quarter, scoring six points in the first four minutes to move in front. Nazareth then answered midway through the frame and took the lead back with 48 seconds remaining.
Audrey Hintz connected on a jumper in the paint to tie the score at 17, but Nazareth responded with a fast break layup as time ran out. Going into the half, Nazareth carried a 19-17 lead over Geneseo.
The Knights found their spark in the third quarter, building a nine-point cushion at 32-23. The Golden Flyers battled to close the gap, but Geneseo held on with a 36-32 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
The Knights opened the fourth quarter with a layup from Hintz, followed by a jumper in the paint from
Maggie McGrane to stretch the lead. The Golden Flyers answered once again, eventually knotting the game at 45 with less than two minutes left. Galgano clutched up at the line for the Knights, burying six free throws in under 16 seconds to help seal a 54-48 semifinal victory.
Galgano led the offense with 15 points, adding 13 rebounds and going a perfect 10-for-10 at the free throw line. Hintz contributed 12 points and shot 6-for-8 from the field.
Aliza Whitehead and McGrane chipped in eight points apiece.
Molly Benetti led all scorers for Nazareth with 21 points and three blocks. Kiara Anglin added six points, six steals and five assists.
2025-26 Empire 8 Women's Basketball Championship Schedule
Saturday, February 21 – First Round (All games at Higher Seed)
No. 1 Nazareth defeated No. 8 Alfred, 75-50 – BOX SCORE
No. 7 Elmira defeated No. 2 SUNY Brockport, 77-71 – BOX SCORE
No. 3 Houghton defeated No. 6 St. John Fisher, 78-53 – BOX SCORE
No. 4 SUNY Geneseo defeated No. 5 Russell Sage, 59-41 – BOX SCORE
Wednesday, February 25 – Semifinals (All games at Higher Seed)
No. 4 SUNY Geneseo defeated No. 1 Nazareth, 54-48 – BOX SCORE
No. 3 Houghton defeated No. 7 Elmira, 66-48 – BOX SCORE
Saturday, February 28 - Championship Final (at Highest Remaining Seed)
No. 4 SUNY Geneseo at No. 3 Houghton – 2 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS