HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 25, 2008) – During the weekend, the Empire 8 announced the four-team field for its upcoming tournament, and the Stevens Institute of Technology women’s basketball team has claimed the No. 1 seed. The Ducks will host the semifinal round this Friday at the Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. The winner of the postseason tournament will clinch the conference’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Championships.
The semifinal games will take place at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. The first match-up is slated to feature Stevens facing off against No. 4 St. John Fisher College. The second contest has No. 2 Ithaca College playing No. 3 Utica College. The championship game is scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.
Ithaca, which has won three of the last four Empire 8 crowns, comes into this weekend’s action with a five-game winning streak. On Friday, the Bombers defeated the Ducks, 68-57, to hand them their first in-league loss of the season. Ithaca is 16-9 overall and 14-2 in conference play.
Utica earned the third seed with a 76-52 victory over St. John Fisher on February 22. The Pioneers have also won four of their last five games. Furthermore, Utica posted a mark of 15-10. It also went 10-6 in the Empire 8.
Heading into the weekend, the Cardinals (13-12) were stuck in a three-team fight for the fourth and final spot. In order for them to make the league tournament, St. John Fisher needed to beat Hartwick College and get an Elmira win over Rochester Institute of Technology. The Cardinals downed the Hawks by a 71-68 decision, while the Soaring Eagles upended the Tigers, 58-49.
This year, Stevens swept both Utica and St. John Fisher. As for Ithaca, the Ducks were 1-1. They won on their home court (58-40) against the Bombers on December 9.
All three contests will be carried live at www.Empire8.tv. You can also catch all of the action via live stats at /livestats/wbball/xlive.htm.
