SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Riding high on a four-game win streak, the Skidmore College women's basketball team returns home for the first time in a month this weekend, beginning a crucial seven-game stretch with a pair of contests against Ithaca and Bard.
The Thoroughbreds will begin the weekend against Ithaca at the Williamson Sports Center on Friday at 6 p.m., wrapping things up against Bard on Saturday at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Admission to both games are free to the public.
Live stats and
video will be provided for both games.
Skidmore (10-8, 8-3 Liberty League) currently sits in a three-way tie for second place in the league standings coming into the weekend and can break that tie and/or move into first place by Saturday night. Skidmore and Ithaca, two teams tied for second, will meet on Friday, with both teams sitting just one back out of first-place RIT. The league leaders host St. Lawrence on Saturday, the third team tied for second place in the standings.
With seven games left in the regular season, Skidmore has a slight advantage schedule-wise to win its second straight league regular season title. Five of those seven contests are at home, with the Thoroughbreds getting a second crack at Ithaca, RIT, and fifth-place Vassar at the Williamson Center during the home stand.
Last weekend, Skidmore completed a season sweep of its Capital Region foes, defeating Union by a 66-38 score on Friday and using overtime to defeat RPI on Saturday by a 76-71 score. Against Union, senior guard
Kelly Donnelly became Skidmore's all-time leading scorer, passing the previous mark of 1,590 set by Jamie Cumpleik '99. She ended the weekend with 1,638 career points, en route to her fifth Liberty League Performer of the Week selection of the season.
Against RPI, Skidmore erased a six-point, fourth-quarter deficit, with senior guard
Veronica Moceri feeding Ong with a layup with six seconds left to force the extra session. Moceri finished with a season-best 21 points, going an impressive 16-for-16 from the free throw line to keep Skidmore in the ballgame.
Moceri increased her per game averages over the weekend, moving to 10.2 points per game and 2.9 assists per game. She leads the team with a .783 percentage at the charity stripe. Donnelly leads the league in scoring at 19.7 points per game and leads the team in rebounds at 8.2. Ong has been a solid option for the Thoroughbreds as of late, averaging 7.8 points per game in conference action, all coming off the bench.
Ari Fustini leads the team in assists with 3.3.
Ithaca (13-5, 8-3 Liberty League) has had a strong season so far, winners of four of the last five games. Last weekend, the Bombers defeated William Smith by a 68-53 score, then beat Union 53-38. Ithaca is 6-1 away from Ben Light Gymnasium.
The Bombers are led by Cassidy O'Malley, who averages 17.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Julie Yacovoni is second in scoring at 11.4, but leads the team in rebounding at 7.6. Skidmore got the best of Ithaca on the road in their first meeting of the season, a 59-46 victory on Jan. 20.
"Ithaca is a great team that we caught on an off day at home," said head coach
Darren Bennett. "We had everything clicking when we played them earlier this season at their place and they just never really got going. They feed off of their press and our team did a solid job of limiting live ball turnovers which will really hurt you against a smart, aggressive, pressing attack like Ithaca has. They have so many weapons on offense and have a very deep group of non-starters, making it very challenging to prepare for their individual personnel. But their bread and butter as far as we know has been their vaunted press and they are good at making adjustments; coming at you from different angles, creating multiple trapping situations in the back and front court. At home we are hoping for some of the same road mojo we had at their place and are prepared for a strong match up Friday night."
Bard (0-17, 0-11 Liberty League) is in search of its first league win of the season. Last weekend, the Raptors dropped a 69-46 decision to Clarkson and fell to St. Lawrence by a 99-50 score on the road. The Raptors take on rival Vassar on Friday before making the trip to Saratoga Springs.
Caleigh DeCaprio leads the team in scoring at 9.0 points per game. Erin Kennedy is second at 7.3. Katie Esposito leads the team in rebounds at 6.2.
The Thoroughbreds defeated Bard in its last meeting, a 65-39 score to kick off the four-game win streak.
"Bard is really getting better and is extremely well coached," said Bennett. "Their players go all out and you can tell that they really care about each other and whats going on around them on the basketball court. They are a true team to each other and to themselves. We want to make sure that we play the game the right way and not get caught up in records, home court emotions and trying to do too much or in playing outside of ourselves against Bard on Saturday."
