Geneseo women's basketball set to face FDU-Florham in NCAA Sweet 16
Sweet 16 - Friday, March 13 (At Tufts - Medford, Mass.)
Game #1 - 5 p.m.
Geneseo vs. FDU-Florham (N.J.)
Live Webcast / Live Stats / Game Notes
Game #2 - 7 p.m.
Tufts vs. Eastern Connecticut
Live Webcast / Live Stats
Elite Eight - Saturday, March 14Â (At Tufts - Medford, Mass.)
Winner of Game #1 vs. Winner of Game #2 - 5:30 p.m.
Ticket Information:
$7 - Adults
$5 - Seniors and student with valid ID
Tickets available only at the door.
GENESEO TAKES ON FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON-FLORHAM IN NCAA TOURNAMENT
Geneseo faces FDU-Florham (N.J.) in the Sweet 16 of the 2015 NCAA Division III Tournament, Friday, at Tufts (Medford, Mass.) The Knights (25-4) received an automatic bid after winning the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Championship over Cortland, 61-54. The Devils (28-1) also had an automatic bid after defeating Eastern University, 76-66, in the Freedom Conference Championship game and are coming off a 91-75 second-round win over the University of New England. After an 84-40 win against Castleton (Vt.) in the first round of the tournament, Geneseo took down Muhlenberg (Pa.), 69-54, in the second round. The Knights are the first SUNYAC team to advance to the Sweet 16 since Cortland in 2001. The team defeated Wheaton (Ma.), 69-66 (3/10/95) in its last Sweet 16 appearance before suffering a setback to Salem State, 76-65 (3/11/95).
KNIGHTS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Geneseo holds a 10-6 record in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. The Knights last appeared in the tournament and served as hosts in 2011, defeating DeSales, 62-51, in the first round before falling to Babson, 65-53, in the Round of 32. The team has advanced as far as the Elite Eight on two occasions, during the 1994-95 season, when Geneseo fell to Salem State, 76-65, and in 1992-93, when the team lost to Scranton, 79-70.
WINNING STREAK
Geneseo is currently riding a 19-game winning streak, the second longest in school history. During the 1992-93 season, the Knights won 27 consecutive games en route to the program's first NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearance. Geneseo's last loss came at conference rival New Paltz (Jan. 10), 57-47, as the Knights were held without a double-digit scorer for the only time this season.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Head coach Scott Hemer was recognized as the SUNYAC Women's Basketball Coach of the Year, announced last Tuesday, as voted on by the coaches in the league. A two-time honoree, Hemer has compiled a 144-75 record in eight seasons with Geneseo and has led the team to 20 or more wins four times. The Knights currently hold a 25-4 record, their best mark since the team finished 26-4 in 2010-11. Hemer coached three players to All-SUNYAC honors this season, including the Player of the Year and Tournament MVP, senior forward Shannon McGinnis.
MIGHTY MCGINNIS
Senior forward Shannon McGinnis is Geneseo's all-time leader with 995 career rebounds and stands third in scoring with 1,453 points. She was named the SUNYAC Player of the Year and first-team all-conference after finishing first in rebounds (11.3) and double-doubles (17), third in points (15.0) and fourth in field-goal percentage (.430). McGinnis' 18 double-doubles puts her 13th nationally while she stands 19th in defensive rebounds per game (9.0). She received SUNYAC Tournament MVP honors after totaling 17 points and 10 rebounds in a 62-49 semifinals victory over Oneonta followed by 14 points and 14 rebounds in the Knights' 61-54 win against Cortland in the title game. A four-time SUNYAC Player of the Week, the most of any women's basketball player in the league, McGinnis became the fourth Geneseo player to be named the conference's top player, joining Katie Smith '95 (1994, 1995), Megan Mackey '96 (1996) and Melissa Graham '13 (2013).
ALL-STAR ALLISON
Junior forward Allison McKenna joined McGinnis in being a First-Team All-SUNYAC selection. McKenna, named to the second team a season ago and the third team in her first year with the Knights, led the SUNYAC with a .841 free-throw percentage and ranked third with 2.0 blocks. Despite missing six games early in the season due to an ankle injury, McKenna finished 14th in the conference with 6.4 rebounds per game and 15th with 12.0 points per game. She tallied a season-high 21 points and added seven rebounds to lead Geneseo to a 55-52 win at Plattsburgh in the regular-season finale. McKenna was also named to the SUNYAC All-Tournament team after she totaled 12 points and 11 rebounds versus Oneonta and nine points and five rebounds in the title game victory over Cortland.
THE DISH ON DANA
Junior guard Dana Cohan was named Second-Team All-SUNYAC after finishing third in the league with 3.6 assists per game, seventh with 49 three-point field goals made and 21st with 10.3 points per contest. A third-team honoree last season, she scored a season-high 19 points and had five rebounds and four assists to lead the Knights to a 78-60 victory over Plattsburgh (Jan. 23) and matched her career-high nine assists in a 76-50 win at Buffalo State (Feb. 10).
BOARD MEETING
Geneseo led the SUNYAC and ranks ninth nationally, averaging 10.7 more rebounds than its opponents while also holding teams to a conference-best 33.1 rebounds per contest. The Knights have only been out-rebounded three times this season, all of which came before conference play began, while notching 18 games in which they have built a double-digit edge on the boards. On only one occasion has Geneseo been held to 30 rebounds or less (30, Nov. 15 vs. Whitman), while reaching 50 rebounds five times.
KNIGHTS AGAINST THE NCAA TOURNAMENT FIELD
Geneseo has faced only one of the other teams that made the 2015 NCAA Tournament field. The Knights suffered a 78-72 setback to St. John Fisher in the third-place game of the Wendy's College Classic (Dec. 6). The Cardinals overcame a 37-31 halftime deficit and forced 23 turnovers to take the victory. Senior forward Shannon McGinnis led the Knights with 17 points and 16 rebounds while junior guard Dana Cohan also added 17 points in the loss. St. John Fisher fell to Tufts in the second round, 72-67 (OT).
ABOUT THE DEVILS
FDU-Florham (28-1) captured its third-straight Freedom Conference Championship after defeating Eastern University, 76-66, on Feb. 28. The 2014 National Champions, the Devils have won eight-straight games and are a nation-best 61-1 in their last 62 contests. FDU-Florham ranks second in the country in turnover margin (+11.34) and scoring margin (25.3), third in three-pointers per game (8.9) and fourth in points (84.6) and steals (14.8). Head coach Marc Mitchell, the winningest coach in program history (90-47), is in his sixth season with the Devils and has led the program to all three of its NCAA Tournament appearances and an 8-1 overall record. Junior forward Shalette Brown, an All-Freedom Conference First-Team selection, leads the team in points per game (13.4), rebounds per game (11.0), steals (2.9) and blocked shots (1.0). Senior forward Kyra Dayon, also a first-team honoree, is averaging 12.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while sophomore forward Alyssa McDonough totals 12.7 points and a team-high 3.6 assists per game.
A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION
Senior forward Lea Sobieraski was named to the 2015 Allstate Good Works team in February, which recognizes a distinguished group of student-athletes who have demonstrated an exemplary commitment to community service. A total of 251 players (158 men, 93 women) were nominated. Two 10-member teams (one men's, one women's) comprised of five student-athletes from NCAA Division I and five from NCAA Division II, III and NAIA were selected. Born with a rare liver condition called Wilson's Disease, she nearly lost her life during her junior year before receiving a liver transplant in March of 2013. Throughout her entire ordeal, she was not only determined to return to school and the basketball team, but also made it a priority to utilize her experience to promote organ, tissue and blood donation throughout Western New York and be actively involved with Upstate New York Transplant Services (UNYTS). Sobieraski is currently working with the Rochester UNYTS to be a part of its drives and events in the coming months and in April, she will join the other nine members of the Good Works team in Tampa, Florida, to be honored at the 2015 NCAA Women's Final Four.
HEART OF A CHAMPION
When she was just four years old, senior center Katie Peterson underwent open-heart surgery to treat a condition called Partial Anamalous Venus Return (TAPVR) and a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD). TAPVR is a rare heart defect in which one or more of a child's pulmonary veins do not connect normally to the left atrium while VSD is a hole in the wall separating the two lower chambers of the heart. Due to these early complications, Peterson grows tired more quickly and can only play for a couple minutes at a time. Quick spurts in and out of games are something she's grown accustomed to and this season, Peterson and senior forward Lea Sobieraski often find themselves subbing into games for one another.
REPRESENTING ROCHESTER
The Knights have five players on the roster, including four starters, from the Greater Rochester area. Senior Shannon McGinnis (Walworth, N.Y./Gananda), senior Biz Reinhardt (Hilton, N.Y./Hilton), junior Dana Cohan (Greece, N.Y./Greece Athena), sophomore Kara Houppert (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas) and junior Kelsey Annese (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) all hail from nearby towns.
