NCAA FIRST ROUND PREVIEW: EMMANUEL SET TO TAKE ON HARTWICK

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. - The Emmanuel College women's basketball team is set to take on Hartwick College in the opening round of the 2019 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at the Hawk Center on the SUNY New Paltz campus this Friday at 5:30 PM. The Saints bring a 23-5 overall record to the contest while the Hawks don a 23-4 mark heading into the tournament.

SEASON AT A GLANCE:

Emmanuel:

• The Saints enter the NCAA Tournament ranked sixth in the nation in scoring, averaging 80.4 points per game
• This year's team currently leads the nation in total assists (563) and assists per game, averaging 20.1 helpers.
• The squad topped the GNAC in shooting percentage (45.1%) which ranks 13th among D-III programs
• EC led the GNAC while ranking 33^rd in the country in rebounding margin, averaging a +9.0 differential throughout the season.
• The Saints are 20-0 when scoring 70+ points, 13-0 when shooting at least 45% from the field 9-0 when pulling down over 50 rebounds.
• Emmanuel is coming off a 65-64 victory in the GNAC Championship gave over #8/10 Saint Joseph's College (ME) to break up a perfect season and snap the Monks 51-game home winning streak.

Hartwick:

• The Hawks led the Empire 8 in scoring, topping the league with a 73.9 ppg average while also leading the conference in scoring margin at +15.1 points per game.
• Hartwick was also a top the conference in field goal percentage, shooting at a 43.8% clip to rank 23^rd in the country and also registered a 33.6% stat line from three to again top the Empire 8 while ranking 47^th among D-III programs.
• 'Wick ranked first in the Empire 8 in defensive rebounding average (29.1) but last in offensive rebounding average (12.3).
• The Hawks enter the tournament with a 1.08 assist to turnover ratio, topping the Empire 8 while ranking 35^th in the country, a few spots behind the Saints who rank 28^th at a 1.10 ratio.
• Hartwick was 0-2 this season when opponents shot better than 43% from the field.
• The Hawks won the Empire 8 Championship over the weekend with a 69-62 win over Saint John Fisher to earn the AQ.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Emmanuel:

• Junior guard Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda (Cambridge, Mass.) is the Saints top offensive and rebounding threat and is currently the only player in the GNAC averaging over 20+ points and 10+ rebounds per game. She enters the NCAA tournament with 19 double-doubles on the year to rank fifth nationally. She was named to the GNAC All-Conference First Team and was named the USBWA National Player of the Week twice this year including the first and last weeks of the year.
• Senior guard Madison McLaughlin (Westerly, R.I.) has been the Saints top shooting threat all season long, connecting on an Emmanuel single-season record of 75 three-pointers which also tops all GNAC shooters and ranks 28^th in the nation. She was named to the GNAC All-Conference Third Team and hit the game-winning free throws in the GNAC Championship victory over #8 Saint Joseph's (ME).
• Junior guard Kayla Weaver (West Haven, Conn.) has been EC's defensive leader all season while also averaging 12.8 points per game. Her lock down defense has helped the Saints hold GNAC opponents to an average of 60.3 ppg as she's recorded a league-high 89 steals to rank 16^th nationally. Weaver was named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year and tabbed to the GNAC All-Conference Third Team.

Hartwick:

• Senior guard Caitlin Corbett Osmond (Altamont, N.Y.) ranked third in the Empire 8 in scoring at 15.2 ppg including 17 games in double-figures. She was named the USBWA National Player of the Week in late January and earned Empire 8 All-Conference First Team honors
• Senior guard Carly Johnson (Greenville, N.Y.) earned Empire 8 All-Conference Second Team honors for the second consecutive season after averaging 14.8 points a night to rank fourth in the conference.
• Sophomore point guard Mary Schoenherr (Unionville, Conn.) led the Empire 8 in assists with 142 dimes to rank tied for 18^th in the country. The playmaker dished out four or more assists in 21 games including a career-high 13 in an Empire 8 tournament win over Stevens last week.

COACHES' CORNER:

Andy Yosinoff - Emmanuel
In his 42^nd campaign with the Saints, Yosinoff is no stranger to the NCAA tournament having led Emmanuel to the Big Dance 19 times over his career. He's compiled an incredible 831-280 (.748) record over his career and earlier this season, moved atop the NCAA record books for career victories by a Women's Basketball Head Coach at the NCAA's Division III level. On December 30, 2018, Yosinoff tallied his 816^th win to move past former Scranton Head Coach Mike Strong as the NCAA's career leader for coaching wins in Division III.

Katie Marcella – Hartwick
In his fourth season with the Hawks, Marcella is making her first trip to the NCAA tournament with the program after guiding Hartwick to a 23-win season, one shy of the program record. Since joining the Hawks, she's posted a 57-45 (.559) overall mark and boasts an overall head coaching record of 108-66 (.621) with one year at D-III Monmouth (10-13) and three years at Keuka (51-21). Marcella led Keuka to a pair of NEAC Championships and two NCAA tournament berths and appeared in the NCAA tournament as a player at SUNY Brockport in 2005.

THE LAST TIME WE MET:

In their only other career meeting, Emmanuel picked up a 68-61 victory over Hartwick on March 2, 2012 in Providence, R.I. in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. Meghan Kirwan '12, who now serves as an Assistant Coach for Emmanuel, led the Saints with 17 points and nine assists in the victory which sparked the Saints tourney run which ended in the Elite 8.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

The Saints are 1-0 all-time against Hartwick with the only career meeting coming in the Opening Round of the 2012 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball tournament.

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY:

Emmanuel is no stranger to the NCAA tournament making its 19^th appearance in the field and the program's first trip since 2013. 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). EC is 16-19 all-time in the NCAA tournament and has posted wins 10 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.

Hartwick will be making their 10^th ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and their first since 2014. The Hawks played in their first national tournament in 1983, and then had a dominant 1990s, receiving six NCAA invites (1990, '91, '95, '96, '97, '99). They made the Tournament next in 2012, and then again in 2014, when they hosted the opening two rounds. 'Wick won their first NCAA game since 1991 in 2014 in an overtime thriller over Baruch before dropping their second round matchup to #11 Amherst the next day.

TICKETS
Entrance will be admitted one hour prior to tip off with adult admission at $7.00 a ticket and $4.00 for students with I.D., children (3-12) and seniors. Tickets can be purchased at the door, cash preferable.

COVERAGE
A live broadcast as well as play-by-play statistics will be available for Friday's NCAA tournament contest. To follow the Saints live, tune in to the link below

LIVE VIDEO & STATS

NCAA D-III WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT PROGRAM