SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Skidmore College women's basketball team will enjoy the comforts of home for the rest of the month of January, beginning with visits from Bard and Ithaca this weekend.
 
Skidmore will host Bard at the Williamson Sports Center on Friday at 5 p.m., and will end the weekend against Ithaca on Saturday. Game time for the Ithaca game has been bumped up to 1 p.m. due to the impending storm.
 
Despite a pair of recent losses, Skidmore (4-11, 3-5 Liberty League) are still in the thick of things in the Liberty League postseason race as the team nears the halfway point of the league schedule. Over the past week, the Thoroughbreds defeated RIT at home by a 59-56 score last Friday, before dropping contests to William Smith and Liberty League-leader Vassar in the last few days.
 
Skidmore has seen increased production defensively during the league slate. In eight league contests, the Thoroughbreds are fourth in scoring defense (57.1 ppg.), third in defensive field goal percentage (.341), and second in defensive 3-point percentage (.273). Skidmore has also seen improved production from its bench over the last few games. Against RIT on Friday, Kate McCarney exploded with 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field, while against Vassar, Lilly Berg had a strong all-around game with 10 points, shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, adding two steals and two blocked shots.
 
Jessica Centore leads the team in scoring at 9.4 points per game. She also leads the team with 29 steals. Haley English is next at 8.1 points. English and Centore share the team assist lead at 2.5 assists per game. Syndey Tsutsui and Taylor Ong are tied for third at 7.0 points. Tsutsui serves as the team's leading 3-point threat, while Ong has had dominant rebounding showings over the last four games. The team's leading rebounder at 7.5 caroms per game, Ong has averaged 11.5 boards per game over the last four games, including a career-high 17 against RIT. She has earned back-to-back Liberty League Honor Roll nods for her efforts on the glass.
 
While Bard (4-8, 0-7 Liberty League) is still looking for its first league win of the season, the Raptors are proving to be a tough out. Bard nearly ended its long Liberty League losing streak last Saturday, ultimately falling to RPI by a 55-52 score.
 
This season is reason for optimism in Annandale-On-Hudson. The Raptors are led by rookie Christina Kiser, who's currently second in the country in scoring at 26.1 points per game. Kiser is only second by a small margin, to Neumann's Nafisa Saunders (26.4 ppg.). She also leads the team with 27 steals and 10 blocked shots. Jess Rylander, another rookie, is second on the team with 10.2 points per game, and leads the team in assists (3.2 apg.) and rebounds (7.2 rpg.). Katie Esposito is third in scoring at 8.5 points per game.
 
Skidmore beat Bard in the season series last year, as has swept the series in every season since Bard entered the Liberty League in 2012.
 
On the other end of the standings, Ithaca (11-3, 6-1 Liberty League) has flirted with top-25 status all season, winners of its last three games. The Bombers are currently receiving votes in the latest d3hoops.com rankings, and are winners of their last three games.
 
Ithaca leads the league in scoring offense (72.9 ppg.) and are second in scoring defense (54.6 ppg.), posting a scoring margin of +18.4, 24^th in the country. The Bombers also lead the league in assists (16.5 apg.) and steals (11.79 spg.).
 
Individually, the Bombers are led by a trio of double-figure scorers. Cassidy O'Malley leads the team with 15.1 points per game and is second in the league with 2.5 blocks per game. Grace Cannon is second at 10.4 ppg, while Annie Giannone rounds out the top-three at 10.2 ppg.
 
Skidmore swept the season series with Ithaca last season, as the Bombers played its first season in the Liberty League. Prior to last season, Skidmore and Ithaca have played each other regularly in the non-conference schedule.