WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TO FACE HARTWICK IN OPENING ROUND OF D-III NCAA TOURNEY
Feb. 29, 2012
BOSTON, Mass. - The 2012 NCAA Division III
Women's Basketball tournament pairings have been released and the
Emmanuel College Saints have drawn a first-round matchup against
the Hartwick College Hawks this Friday evening in a 6:00 PM contest
at the Murray Center Gymnasium on the Rhode Island College campus
in Providence, R.I.
The Saints finished the regular season with an overall record of
22-6 en route to capturing their sixth consecutive Great Northeast
Athletic Conference tournament title to earn the automatic
qualifier while the Hawks hold a 22-5 mark and earned an at-large
bid to the dance after falling in the Empire-8 championship game to
Ithaca College, 43-36.
Emmanuel enters the tournament playing some of its best basketball
on the year riding a 10-game winning streak dating back to January
28. The squad did not lose in the month of February and during
their current streak have outscored opponents by an average of 21.0
ppg.
Hartwick also enjoyed a strong run to close out the regular season,
winning 12 in a row from January 14 through February 11 in which
they averaged a 13.5 point margin of victory before falling in
their regular season finale to Stevens Institute of Technology,
60-54.
The two squad's only common opponent on the 2011-12 schedule was
Suffolk University. Emmanuel saw the Rams twice on the year, once
in regular season GNAC action and once in the GNAC Semifinals. On
January 10 during the regular season matchup, EC came away with a
hard fought 64-58 road victory before cruising to an 87-59 win in
the conference tournament on February 23. Hartwick saw Suffolk in
their third game of the season at the Western New England Hoops
Classic Finals and fell in a tight championship game, 56-52.
The Saints are led by the 2011-12 Great Northeast Athletic
Conference Player of the Year and First Team All-Conference
selection, Meghan
Kirwan (Melrose, Mass.). The senior co-captain has
started 27 of 28 games on the year and is averaging impressive
numbers in all four major statistical categories for the Saints.
Kirwan is the Saints' second leading scorer, netting 13.8 points
per game, and the team's third leading rebounder, grabbing 6.3
rebounds per game. She also is Emmanuel's leader in both assists
(4.0 apg) and steals (2.8 spg). Most impressively, Kirwan leads the
Saints and is ranked 5th in the GNAC in field goal
percentage, shooting 51% from the floor, as she has knocked down
149 of her 292 shots on the year.
Along with Kirwan, EC is powered by GNAC First Team All-Conference
selection, Fiona
O'Dwyer (Stamford, Conn.). The junior forward earned
her second-straight All-Conference recognition, as she was named
3rd Team All-GNAC as a sophomore. O'Dwyer is Emmanuel's
leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 14.4 points and 8.4
rebounds per night. She is among the conference's leaders is both
categories, ranking 9th in scoring and 4th in
rebounding. O'Dwyer has shot 46% (186-409) from the floor for the
season and has blocked 24 shots this year. O'Dwyer grabbed her
500th career rebound earlier this season and is now just
35 points shy of 1,000 for her collegiate career.
Hartwick, who is making their first trip to the NCAA tournament in
13 years, is led by a pair of sophomore guards in Maria
Foglia (Rensselaer, NY) and Kate
Purcell (Buffalo, NY). Foglia earns First Team honors after
receiving honorable mention from the conference coaches in her
freshman season. She enters postseason play averaging 15.5 points,
3.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists, while shooting 86.6% from the
free-throw line. Currently, she ranks 18th among NCAA D-III women's
basketball players in free-throw percentage. Within the Empire 8,
she ranks second in free-throw accuracy, fourth in scoring, sixth
in three-pointers made, seventh in field-goal percentage, and
eighth in 3-point field-goal percentage.
Purcell enjoyed a strong season for the Hawks as she led the team
in rebounds (6.5/gm.), steals (66), and 3-pointers made (43). She
also contributed greatly in the scoring column as she averaged 13.5
points per game and led the Hawks in scoring in 10 games this
season. The sophomore recorded five double-doubles, which included
a career-high 31 points and 14 rebounds in an 81-72 overtime win at
Fisher on February 11.
Leading the Saints from the sidelines is 35th year Head
Coach Andy
Yosinoff. In his tenure with Emmanuel, Yosinoff has
compiled a 683-224 record for a .753 career winning percentage to
rank third active and fourth all-time in wins among Division III
coaches. The Hawks are staffed by fourth-year Head Coach Missy West
who was named the 2012 Empire-8 Coach of the Year.
To watch the first round matchup between the Saints and Hawks
online, click here
to watch the live webstream from the Murray Center or here to
follow the live in-game statistics. The winner will face off
against the victor of the other regional matchup at 8:00 PM of
Rhode Island College (24-3) vs. Baruch College (19-9) on Saturday,
March 3 at 7:00 PM. If you'd like to watch the RIC vs. Baruch
contest online, click here
to view the live webstream. The second round matchup between the
two winners can be viewed here.