SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – Coming off two statement wins last weekend, the Skidmore College women's basketball team goes on the road for its final two contests of the regular season in Liberty League action versus Clarkson and St. Lawrence. Skidmore is looking to grasp a potential second straight regular season title.
 
The Thoroughbreds will take on Clarkson on Friday at 6 p.m., before ending the season at St. Lawrence at 2 p.m. Clarkson and St. Lawrence will provide live stats and video streaming for both games.
 
Skidmore (14-9, 12-4 Liberty League) is sitting in a three-way first way tie for first place with RIT and Ithaca as the regular season nears its conclusion. As it stands today, the Thoroughbreds would break the tie and earn the No. 1 seed in the league tournament, thanks to a 3-1 record between the co-leaders. With the new format this season, the top-two seeds clinch a bye into the league semifinal game next Saturday, Feb. 24, with all semifinal and championship games hosted by the top seed.
 
With that in mind, Skidmore holds its fate mostly in its own hands, needing a pair of victories this weekend to secure the bye, along with an Ithaca victory against Vassar on Saturday to secure home court advantage. It won't be easy, as St. Lawrence (15-7, 10-5 Liberty League) comes in hot in fifth place, but well within striking range of the top seed. Clarkson (9-14, 4-11 Liberty League) checks in at eighth place, but has played competitive games against Skidmore in its recent past.
 
Scorching-hot shooting on Friday propelled the Thoroughbreds to a 78-56 victory against William Smith. Skidmore led the whole way, shooting 50 percent from the field and 32 percent from beyond the arc. Four of Skidmore's starters scored in double digits, making up 81 percent of the total points.
 
Saturday's game showed a different tone. On Senior Day and in the first game of the Big Green Scream, Skidmore faced its first overtime game of the year. Going into halftime, the game was tied at 26 and no team held a lead larger than three the rest of regulation. The Thoroughbreds were up by three with seconds left in the fourth quarter until RIT got fouled from the 3-point line and sank all three free throws, tying the game at 53. In the extra session, Skidmore saw a dominant performance by its seniors, scoring all 17 points to help secure the 70-64 win in front of a capacity Williamson Center crowd.
 
Kelly Donnelly leads the league in points per game (20.0) and field goal percentage (48.6), is second in steals (51), and fourth in rebounds per game (8.6) and minutes per game (34.6). Veronica Moceri adds 11.1 points per game, shooting 83.1 percent from the free throw line, tying Haley English for second on the team in assists per game with 2.8. Behind Donnelly, Ari Fustini sees the second most minutes (32.4), while leading the team in 3-point shooting percentage (29.7%), and the league in assists per game (3.5).
 
The Saints come into this week strong, with an 11-3 record in the 2018 calendar year. They will host RPI on Friday before rounding out their regular season versus Skidmore. They split this last weekend with a win at Union (42-37) and loss at Ithaca (42-52), then defeated rival Clarkson on Tuesday by a 71-45 score. Defensively, Saint Lawrence comes in as the best defensive team in the Liberty League, only allowing 51.1 points per game.  Katie Frederick leads the league with 9.6 rebounds per game and scores the most points per game on the team at 10.5. Kaelyn Kohlasch leads the team with most minutes per game at 27.9, 3-points per game with an average of 39.8 percentage and averages the second most assists per game with 2.7. In comparison, both teams show similar numbers in points scored per game with around 61 and about 15 assists per game.
 
Clarkson is coming into the final weekend looking to close out their season on a positive note. The Golden Knights are 1-2 in their past three games, defeating Union on Saturday, bookended by losses to Ithaca and St. Lawrence. Statistically, Clarkson ranks as tied for first in most three pointers made, averaging 7.0 per game. Senior Devin Sorell poses the highest 3-point shooting percentage of 35.7% as well as scores an average of 17.5 points per game. Madison Shea helps the team, shooting 37 percent from the field and 33 percent from three, and leads the team in rebounds with an average of 5.7 per game.