SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.—The Skidmore College women's basketball team will continue its run at the Liberty League title when it hosts Clarkson in Wednesday night's semifinal.
 
#2 Skidmore (15-10, 11-5 Liberty League) vs. #3 Clarkson (19-5-, 11-5 Liberty League)

Game Details: Wednesday, Feb. 25 – 6 p.m. | Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Game Coverage: Live Stats
                              Video

 
SCOUTING THE THOROUGHBREDS (15-10, 11-5 Liberty League)
 
Skidmore locked up the second seed in the Liberty League tournament with its second win over regular season champion St. Lawrence on Friday. The Thoroughbreds were knocked off by Clarkson in their final contest.
 
Seniors Angela Botiba and Molly McLaughlin have led by example down the stretch. Botiba is shooting 60.7% from the field over the last three games, averaging 17.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game in that stretch. McLaughlin averaged 12.5 points, five rebounds and four assists per game in the team's last two games.
 
Skidmore's success has been largely due to its defense and its rebounding. The Thoroughbreds lead the lead in field goal percentage defense (32.8), defensive rebounds per game (32.5), offensive rebounds per game (15.9) and rebounding margin (7.5).
 

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SCOUTING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (18-7, 11-5 Liberty League)
Clarkson went 1-1 in its final two contests of the regular season, falling at St. Lawrence before beating Skidmore.
 
Junior forward Ashley Loggins shot 53.6% from the field in the team's final three games, averaging 16 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Senior guard Cara Manfredi has scored in double figures in the last 12 games. She leads the conference in 3-pointers per game (2.8), 3-point field goal percentage (35.25) and ranks second in the in scoring (17.0 ppg).
 
Clarkson features the league's most potent offense, averaging 71.8 points per game while leading the conference in field goal percentage (40.3) and 3-point field goal percentage (32.2%). The Golden Knights have also taken care of the ball this season, sitting atop the league in turnover margin (4.84) and ranking second in assist-to-turnover ratio (0.97).
 

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THIS SEASON:
The teams split the two regular season meetings with each team notching a road win.
 
Jan. 13, 2015 at Clarkson
Skidmore 80, Clarkson 71
 
The first meeting was a shootout with five players from each team scoring in double figures. McLaughlin just missed a triple-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Senior guard Lindsey Davis scored a game-high 15 points, freshman guard Kelly Donnelly posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards and junior guard Amber Holgate added 11 points off the bench.
 
Madison Shea led Clarkson with 14 points on 6 of 11 shooting. Loggins recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, Manfredi tallied 10 points and Brooke Butkovsky chipped in with 12 poinst off the bench.
 
The Thoroughbreds shot 45.9% (28-61) from the field, including 40% (8-20) from 3-point range, while the Golden Knights went 30 for 75 (40%) from the field. Skidmore held Clarkson to 19% (4-21) shooting from beyond the arc.
 
 
Feb. 22, 2015 at Skidmore
Skidmore 58, Clarkson 71
 
Skidmore led 36-33 at the break, but Clarkson rallied in the second half with a 10-3 run to take a 55-48 lead. The Golden Knights held the Thoroughbreds to five points over the final eight minutes of the contest. Clarkson forced Skidmore into 17 turnovers in the game, while committing just six of its own.
 
Botiba scored a game-high 17 points also tying for game high with eight rebounds. McLaughlin added 14 points, six rebounds and four assists.
 
Loggins had a team-high 16 points and eight rebounds, Manfredi scored nine of her 11 points in the second half and Devin Sorrell had 15 points off the bench, going 3 for 6 from beyond the arc.
 

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UP NEXT:
The winner will advance to Saturday's Liberty League championship game, taking on the winner of tonight's game between top seed St. Lawrence and fourth-seeded Union.