Women's Basketball | 2/21/2026 6:11:18 PM
No. 1 Nazareth University, No. 3 Houghton University, No. 4 SUNY Geneseo and No. 7 Elmira College advanced to the 2026 Empire 8 Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament Semifinal round after advancing in quarterfinal action on Saturday, Feb. 21. Nazareth defeated No. 8 Alfred University, 75-50, while Houghton knocked off No. 6 St. John Fisher University, 78-53 and Geneseo earned a 59-41 win over No. 5 Russell Sage College. Elmira was the lone lower seed to pull off the upset, 77-71 at No. 2 SUNY Brockport.
No. 1 Nazareth and No. 4 SUNY Geneseo will face off in the first Empire 8 Semifinal on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 6 p.m., while No. 3 Houghton and No. 7 Elmira will meet in the second semifinal, also at 6 p.m.
Earlier this season, Nazareth and Geneseo split a pair of contests, with each team winning on its respective home court. Geneseo defeated Nazareth, 84-79 in overtime on Jan. 9, while Nazareth earned a 68-56 win on Feb. 7. Houghton defeated Elmira on the road on Jan. 31, winning by a score of 72-47.
NO. 1 NAZARETH 75, NO. 8 ALFRED 50
Top-seeded Nazareth built a 33-point lead after three quarters, rolling to a 75-50 win over No. 8 Alfred University from Kidera Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. Nazareth improved to 22-4 on the season, while Alfred finished the season with an 11-15 mark.
Kiara Anglin led four Nazareth players in double-figures, scoring 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor to go along with six boards and two steals in 27 minutes. Sarina McDowell added 12 points and five boards, while Katie MacLachlan scored 11 points, pulled down seven boards and dished out four assists, while Molly Benetti had 10 points.
Jaidyn Chest was the lone Alfred player to score in double figures, finishing with 17 points. She became Alfred’s all-time single-season record holder for points in a season with 434.
NO. 7 ELMIRA 77, NO. 2 SUNY BROCKPORT 71
Elmira College became the first No. 7 seed in E8 Women’s Basketball Tournament history to win a game, out-scoring No. 2 seed SUNY Brockport 21-8 in the fourth quarter to earn a 77-71 win from Jim and John Vlogianitis Gym.
Elmira shot 51 percent from the floor and hit 11-of-17 from 3-point range. Lauren Miller led Elmira with 21 points and nine assists. She hit 6-of-7 shots from 3-point range in the win. Emma Ryan had 15 points, while Amaroniah Dixon added 13 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
The Soaring Eagles led 41-31 at the half, before Brockport out-scored Elmira 32-15 in the third quarter to take a 63-56 lead head into the final frame.
Mandy Brink led the Golden Eagles with 18 points, while Brianna Carey added 17 points. Stephanie Jean-Baptiste had 15 points, while Claire Turner added seven boards, four steals and three blocks.
Elmira improved to 13-13 with the win, while Brockport had its season come to an end with an 18-8 mark.
NO. 3 HOUGHTON 78, NO. 6 ST. JOHN FISHER 53
In each of the past two seasons, the Houghton Highlanders' championship aspirations have ended at the hands of the St. John Fisher Cardinals. And earlier this year, the Cardinals stunned the Highlanders on their home court with a buzzer-beater.
On Saturday, Houghton spotted the Cardinals jumped an early 11-2 lead but stormed back, outscoring the Cardinals, 76-42 over the final 35 minutes for a 78-53 win. Houghton improved to 21-5 on the season, while St. John Fisher had its season end with a 12-14 mark.
Houghton rallied to end the first quarter with a 14-13 lead, then dominated the second, 20-10, and never let up, rolling their way into the semifinal round.
Houghton forced 15 Fisher turnovers and held the Cardinals under 30 percent shooting, while giving the ball away only 10 times and hitting 43 percent of their shots.
Tabitha DeVries led the Highlanders with 17 points (11 of which came in the second half) and six rebounds on 8-of-14 shooting. She is currently only 35 points away from becoming the 18th Highlander women's basketball player to score 1,000 career points.
Hannah Farley chipped in 15 points in 15 minutes of play, going 6-for-9 from the field and 2-for-2 from the line, while
Karina Crouse and
Teghan Trocki added 12 and 11 points apiece, respectively, and
Emma Huedepohl dished out nine assists.
Presleigh Brunner led the Cardinals with 13 points and nine boards. St. John Fisher hit 15-of-16 (93.8%) free throw attempts.
NO. 4 SUNY GENESEO 59, NO. 5 RUSSELL SAGE 41
The stout SUNY Geneseo defense allowed Russell Sage to shoot just 28 percent from the floor, as the defending champion Knights out-scored the Gators 34-21 in the second half to earn a 59-41 win from Schrader Gymnasium on Saturday. Geneseo moved to 18-9 on the season.
Grace Galgano led Geneseo with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Audrey Hintz had 12 points and three assists. Kristin Suydam added 13 points to go along with eight points, while Maggie McGrane dished out five assists.
Layla Acosta led Russell Sage with 16 points. The Gators finished the season with a 15-11 mark.
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 at No. 1 Nazareth – 6 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
No. 7 Elmira at No. 3 Houghton – 6 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
Saturday, February 28 - Championship Final (at Highest Remaining Seed)
Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2 - TBA – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
Admission
$10.00 - Adults
$2.00 - Students and seniors with ID
Free - Children under 12
For the most up to date information on this year's championship, follow the Empire 8 Conference on X and Instagram (@Empire8).