SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – With just three weekends to go in the regular season, the Skidmore College women's basketball team readies for a fight to determine Liberty League postseason positioning. The battles will begin on the road, as Skidmore starts a four-game road stretch this weekend with trips to Ithaca and Bard.
Skidmore (5-14, 4-8 Liberty League) will travel to Ithaca (15-3, 10-1) on Friday for a 5 p.m. start and will end the weekend at Bard (5-13, 0-12) on Saturday at 2 p.m.
The Thoroughbreds currently sit a half-game out of the playoff picture in eighth place with six games left in the regular season. Six teams earn league postseason berths. Skidmore dropped contests last weekend to local foes RPI and Union.
Skidmore has seen solid production from its rookie class this season. Guard
Kate McCarney has put up some impressive shooting performances, knocking down four threes and scoring 20 points against RIT on Jan. 11. She matched the feat last Saturday, knocking down four more threes against RPI. McCarney leads the team in 3-point shooting (.342) in league games and has averaged 7.9 points in conference action. Forward
Clare Driscoll blocked two shots against RPI and shot 50 percent from the field (3-for-6) in that game. She averages 4.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Fellow forward
Mary Kate Palleschi tallied a career-high seven points against Union last Friday and she's tallied a block or a steal in 11 of 16 games played. Forward
Toyin Koleoso has given the Skidmore bench a boost with her active presence in the post. She tallied season-highs in rebounds (five) and assists (two) against Bard on Jan. 18.
Jessica Centore leads the team in scoring (8.5 ppg), assists (2.7 apg), and steals (2.0 spg).
Haley English is right behind in both points (8.4 ppg) and assists (2.5 apg).
Taylor Ong is third in scoring (7.1 ppg) and leads the team in rebounds (7.8 rpg). She's been a force on the boards as of late, averaging 9.7 rebounds in the month of January.
Sydney Tsutsui and
Lilly Berg each average 6.9 points per game.
Ithaca is one of the hotter teams in the league, winners of seven straight games. The Bombers can clinch a postseason berth this weekend, as they aim for a regular season title. The Bombers defeated Skidmore in an earlier meeting this season by a 65-42 score.
Ithaca is second in the league in scoring at 70.2 points per game. They have the highest scoring margin, outscoring opponents by 17.1 points. Cassidy O'Malley is one of the leading scorers in the league, averaging 14.9 points per game. She's also second in blocked shots (2.4 bpg). Grace Cannon (9.9 ppg) and Annie Giannone (9.8 ppg) round out the top three scorers. Cannon also leads the team in rebounds (5.3 rpg).
Bard has improved this season, with four more wins than all of last season (1-24). Skidmore was able to get past Bard in its previous meeting back on Jan. 18, defeating the Raptors by a 74-48 score.
Christina Kiser is continuing to submit one of the more impressive rookie seasons in Liberty League history. The Bard guard is fifth in the country in scoring at 24.5 points per game, just under a point behind the national leader (Kaylee Kacavas of Rivier, 25.4 ppg). She also leads the league with 2.8 steals per game. Jess Rylander (9.7 ppg) and Katie Esposito (8.7 ppg) round out the Bard top scorers.
