NCAA Tournament Preview: Emmanuel Set to Face NYU in Opening Round Tilt

BRUNSWICK, Maine - The Emmanuel College women's basketball team is set to take on New York University (NYU) in the opening round of the 2020 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Morrell Gymnasium on the Bowdoin College campus this Friday at 5:00 PM. The Saints bring a 21-7 overall record to the contest while the Violets don a 20-5 mark heading into the tournament.

SEASON AT A GLANCE:

Emmanuel:

• The Saints rank first in the GNAC in field goals made (776) and field goal percentage (40.8%) and second in the GNAC in scoring, averaging 70.6 points per game.
• EC led the GNAC while ranking seventh in the country in total assists (496) and ranks ninth in D-III in assists per game, averaging 17.7 helpers after topping the country last season in the category (19.6 apg).
• Emmanuel topped the GNAC and ranks 21^st in the country in offensive rebounds per game at 17.2 offensive boards per night.
• EC also bested the GNAC in rebounding margin per game, owning a +8.6 average which ranks 35^th in the nation.
• The Saints are 16-2 on the year when scoring 65+ point and went 2-5 when allowing 65+ points.

NYU:

• The Violets enter the NCAA tourney with a 20-5 mark including a 10-4 record in the University Athletic Association (UAA) and have won six of their last seven.
• NYU led the UAA while ranking 13th in the nation in scoring, averaging 77.6 points per game while shooting at a 42.5% clip from the field to rank 38th in D-III.
• The squad led the UAA in three-point field goals made (258) which ranks 10th in the country, shooting at a 35.5% rate from behind the arc.
• NYU also was atop the UAA in assists per game with 17.4 helpers, ranking 11th nationally.
• The Violets were 3-5 on the year when allowing opponents to score 74+ points and posted a 12-0 mark when they scored 76+.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Emmanuel:

• (#1) Senior guard Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda (Cambridge, Mass.) leads the country with 22 double-doubles on the year. She ranks fourth in the GNAC in scoring (19.3 ppg), third in rebounding (12.0 rpg) and field goal percentage (48.4%). Ramirez-Tejeda was named the GNAC Player of the Year while earning All-GNAC First Team honors for the third straight season and recently moved into third all-time in scoring at Emmanuel (1,576 points).
• (#24) Senior guard Kayla Weaver (West Haven, Conn.) has been EC's defensive leader all season while also averaging 10.5 points per game. Her lock down defense has helped the Saints hold GNAC opponents to an average of 52.4 ppg as she's recorded 85 steals to rank second in the GNAC and 21st nationally. Weaver also scored her 1,000^th career point in the GNAC tournament to become the 25^th player in program history to reach the milestone, earning GNAC tournament MVP honors. She was named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season while earning All-GNAC Third Team honors.
• (#45) Sophomore forward Loredana D'Agostino (Broad Brook, Conn.) turned it on when GNAC play began, averaging almost 12 points per game since mid-January. In regular-season GNAC play, D'Agostino shot 45.1% from the floor to rank fifth in the GNAC. She was named to the GNAC All-Tournament Team and leads the Saints while ranking fourth in the GNAC in blocks with 39 rejections.

NYU:

• (#1) Senior point guard Annie Barrett (Braintree, Mass.) leads the nation averaging 7.5 assists per game while ranking 10^th among NCAA D-III ballers with a 2.34 assist to turnover ratio.  She also averages 5.5 points and 5.9 rebounds for the Violets.
• (#4) Junior shooting guard Janean Cuffee (New York, N.Y.) leads the UAA in scoring with 20.1 points per game, which ranks 22nd in the nation. She's netted double-figures in 23 or 25 games and additionally, she averages 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists a night.
• (#23) Freshman forward Jenny Walker (Sausalito, Calif.) is contributing 9.8 points and a team-best 6.8 rebounds per game. Walker leads the Violets in blocks with 36 rejections and is coming off a career-high six block outing against Brandeis on February 29 in a 91-73 win.

COACHES' CORNER:

Andy Yosinoff – Emmanuel – (853-288, .748) – 43^rd collegiate season
Coach Yosinoff is no stranger to the NCAA tournament having led Emmanuel to 20 trips to the dance over his career that include 17 AQ's. He's compiled an incredible 280-16 (.946) record in regular-season GNAC play and earlier this season, collected his 850^th career victory to become just the 12^th NCAA women's basketball coach to reach the milestone. He's one of six active WBB coaches with 850 wins and the first D-III women's coach to hit the mark.

With Emmanuel's win over Suffolk last week, the Saints posted the program's 25^th season with 20 or more wins under Yosinoff, the fourth-highest total in NCAA DIII Women's Basketball history and one season shy of the record of 26.

Meg Barber – NYU - (37-15, .712) – 2nd collegiate season
Barber was hired as New York University's 11^th women's basketball head coach in June 2018. In her first season at the helm of her alma mater, Barber led the Violets to a 17-10 overall record, a 6-8 mark in the ultra-competitive University Athletic Association (UAA) and to the postseason Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship. She came to NYU after serving as a Division I assistant coach at Temple ('12-16) and Williams and Mary ('05-12).

A four-year member of the Violets who is 10^th on the team's all-time scoring list with 1,228 points, Barber served as a captain during her senior campaign and was twice selected First Team All-UAA. She was also named First Team All-ECAC and Second Team D3hoops.com All-Region in 2002. The Violets earned postseason berths all four seasons, including two NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearances and two NY/NJ ECAC Championships. NYU rose to #1 in the national rankings during the 2000-01 season and posted an overall record of 93-18 during Barber's career.

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY:

Emmanuel is no stranger to the NCAA tournament making its 20th appearance in the field and the program's second straight trip. The Saints first appeared in the tournament back in 1986, making three consecutive trips in '86, '87 & '88 before a trip in '92, '96 and '97. After a few years away from the dance, the Saints made a comeback in style, appearing in the 2001 Final Four en route to qualifying for the field in all but one year from 2001 through 2013 ('01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '07, '08, '09, '10, '11, '12, '13) and has added an appearance each of the last two seasons. EC is 17-20 all-time in the NCAA tournament and has posted wins 11 times in the opening round while advancing to the Sweet 16 three times ('01, '07, '12), the Elite 8 twice ('01 & '12) and the Final Four in '01.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

The Saints are 1-2 all-time against NYU. The Violets are 2-0 against Emmanuel during the regular season posting wins in 2014 and 2015 while EC stunned NYU back in the 2001 NCAA tournament, topping the No. 2 ranked team in the country 74-70 in overtime in the Elite 8 to advance to the Final Four. NYU current Head Coach Meg Barber sent that game into overtime with a basket with 5.8 seconds left in regulation before the Saints prevailed in the extra session.

THE LAST TIME WE MET:

On December 5, 2015, the Violets topped Emmanuel, 59-54, in a tight contest in Boston. NYU came in ranked No. 5 in the country and the Saints gave them all they could handle, leading 30-27 at halftime.

NYU turned up the defensive intensity in the third quarter, holding the Saints to just five points in the frame to take a 46-35 lead into the final quarter before Emmanuel cut the lead to a single-possession with 33 seconds to play on a three by Madison McLaughlin '19  to make it a 56-54 score. EC was able to force an NYU turnover on the next possession, getting the ball with 28 seconds to play and a chance to tie or win but the hosts coughed the ball up with 12 seconds remaining and NYU hit a few late free throws to seal the 59-54 win.

TICKETS
Adult admission is $7.00 and $4.00 for seniors and students. Tickets will be sold at the door on a first-come basis until capacity is reached (1,400).

COVERAGE
Friday's NCAA D-III Women's Basketball Tournament will be streamed live on the web, produced by the Bowdoin College Athletic Communications team. To tune into the live action, click on one of the links below:

LIVE STREAM

LIVE STATS

CLICK HERE FOR THE NCAA D-III WOMEN'S BASKETBALL DIGITAL PROGRAM

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