Women's Basketball | 2/28/2019 10:32:00 AM
ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT (20-7) women's basketball team will play Baldwin Wallace University (19-7) in the First Round of the 2019 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship on Friday, March 1 at 5 p.m. on the Jordan Court at Hitchcock Arena on the campus of Messiah College in Grantham, Pa. The winner will face the winner between Messiah and Hilbert College in the second round on Saturday, March 3 at 6 p.m.
The Tigers received an at-large bid into this year's tournament after finishing the regular season with 20 wins. It is the third straight season RIT has qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Last season, RIT advanced to the round of 16 for the first time in program history.
The Tigers enter the weekend 12-1 in their last 13 contests. RIT lost 75-73 in overtime at Ithaca College in the Liberty League Championship last Sunday, snapping the Tigers 12-game winning streak.
Cori Okada (Fullerton, CA/Troy) led the No. 2 seed Tigers with a game-high 32 points, while
Brooke Stanley (Minnetonka, MN/Benilde-St. Margaret's) tallied 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
RIT comes into the NCAA Tournament 20-7 overall, averaging 67.9 points per game, while allowing 58.1 points. The Tigers are shooting 41.9 percent as a team from the floor and an impressive 74.0 percent from the foul line.
Offensively, RIT features four players who average double figures in scoring, led by Sophomore
Sabrina Wolfe (Troy, NY/Troy), who averages 15.4 points per game. A 2019 All-Liberty League Second Team selection, Wolfe leads the team with 2.5 steals per game, and is second on the team averaging 7.0 rebounds per game. Senior co-captain
Cori Okada (Fullerton, CA/Troy) is second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.3 points per game, and leads the team in assists, averaging 4.8 per contest. Okada, a 2019 All-Liberty League First Team pick, enters the NCAA Tournament as RIT's career leader with 446 assists, and is fourth on RIT's all-time scoring list with 1,368 career points.
Tara Lynch (Green Township, NJ/Newton) is third on the team in scoring, averaging 12.9 points per game and enters the tournament third all-time at the university in scoring with a 1,441 career points. A 2019 All-Liberty League Second Team selection, Lynch leads the team, averaging 1.1 blocks per game, and is third in rebounding, averaging 5.8 caroms per contest. Junior co-captain
Brooke Stanley (Minnetonka, MN/Benilde-St. Margaret's) is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 12.4 points per contest and leads the team and the Liberty League, shooting 49.7 percent from the floor. She is third on the team in assists (2.4 APG) and steals (2.0 SPG). Stanley garnered All-Liberty League Honorable Mention honors in 2019.
Baldwin Wallace University received an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament, making its 14th appearance. The Yellow Jackets enter the tournament with a 19-7 overall record, and are 3-2 in their last five games, including a 70-53 loss to Ohio Northern in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament Quarterfinals back on Feb. 19. Baldwin Wallace enters the NCAA Tournament averaging 69.3 points per game, while allowing 61.2 points per contest.
Lilly Edwards leads the Yellow Jackets in scoring, averaging 13.0 points per game, and rebounding grabbing 6.7 caroms per contest. Hannah Fecht is second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.8 points, while Mary Schentur is third, averaging 9.1 points per game. Riley Schill leads the Yellow Jackets in assists (3.5 APG) and steals (2.1 SPG).
This is the first meeting between Baldwin Wallace and RIT.
Hilbert earned the automatic bid into this year's tournament with a 64-54 win over Penn State-Behrend in the AMCC Championship last Sunday. The Hawks enter the NCAA Tournament with a 22-5 overall record, and average 64.3 points per game. Ashley Repine leads the Hawks in scoring (14.2 PPG) and rebounding (8.1 RPG).
Messiah College earned the automatic bid into this year's tournament with a 54-46 win over Lycoming College in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament finals last Saturday. The Falcons enter the tournament with a 26-1 overall record, and average 64.6 points per game, while allowing 50.7 points. Maci Thornton leads the team in scoring, averaging 18.0 points per game. Alecia Rohrer is second in scoring (15.4 PPG) and leads the team in rebounding, grabbing 13.2 rebounds per game.
RIT is 2-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament Play. Last year, RIT knocked off University of New England and The College of New Jersey to advance to the Round of 16. The Tigers have won 82 games over the last four years.
Tickets are $7 for adults, $4 for Seniors/Students/Kids over the age of 2.
Live Stats/Video:
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/messiah/
