Cortland Women's Basketball to Play Messiah in NCAA First Round Friday at NYU
Cortland Sports Information Department
The SUNY Cortland women's basketball team has earned an at-large berth into the 64-team NCAA Division III tournament and will open play against Messiah University on Friday, March 6, as part of a four-team regional hosted by New York University in New York City.
Friday's other first-round game at NYU features the host Violets versus Maine-Farmington. The Cortland-Messiah game is scheduled for a 5:15 p.m. start, with the NYU-Maine Farmington game at 7:45 p.m. Friday's winners will play Saturday at NYU at 7:45 p.m., with that winner advancing to the tournament's "sweet 16."
The Red Dragons (23-4), led by third-year head coach Colleen Ames, will be making their fifth NCAA tournament appearance in the last six seasons and 15th overall. Cortland defeated Endicott in the first round last season before losing to host Bowdoin in the second round - the program's third second-round appearance since 2020. The Red Dragons' best national finishes have been "sweet 16" showings in 1992 and 2001.
Cortland earned one of 21 at-large bids into the tournament, based on the team being 33rd in the final NCAA Power Index (NPI) rankings. Cortland tied for first in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) regular season with a 17-1 record and advanced to the conference tournament finals before losing at New Paltz, 56-62. Cortland is 21-2 since Nov. 22, with both losses coming to New Paltz.
Three Red Dragons average double figures in scoring. Junior Joleen Lusk (Cherry Valley/Cherry Valley-Springfield) averages team highs of 11.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocked shots per game. Junior Jackie Funk (Penfield) averages 11 points per game, and senior Brooke Tillotson (Marathon) averages 10.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals per contest. Senior Kaeli McAnally (Islip) is the team leader with 2.9 assists per contest. Sophomore Sam Dembinsky (Wallkill) is shooting 58 percent from the field and averages 6.2 points per game, and junior Sophie Bissaillon (East Greenbush/Columbia) is shooting 54 percent overall, and 46 percent from 3-point range, and averages 6.4 points per game.
Messiah (23-4) won the MAC Commonwealth tournament title with a 76-72 win over Widener to earn an NCAA automatic berth. The Falcons also won the conference regular-season title with a 13-1 mark. Messiah is making its ninth straight NCAA tournament appearance and 24th overall. The Falcons lost in overtime to Washington & Jefferson in last year's first round. Messiah has advanced to the NCAA second round 17 times and the "sweet 16" on eight occasions. The Falcons were national runner-up in both 2001 and 2008.
NYU (25-0) is the two-time defending NCAA Division III champion. The Violets have won a Division III record 87 straight games since the start of the 2023-24 season. They finished 14-0 in the University Athletic Association (UAA); the conference does not conduct a postseason tournament. In addition to the 2024 and 2025 national titles (each with a 31-0 record), the Violets also won a national crown in 1997.
Maine Farmington (21-7) is making its first NCAA appearance since 2007 and third overall. The Beavers were the third seed in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) tournament and posted wins over sixth-seeded VTSU Lyndon, second-seeded Husson and top-seeded Maine Maritime Academy to punch their NCAA ticket.
