SAGE ADVANCES TO SKYLINE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS; GATORS TOP USMMA 64-47
Albany, NY- The Sage Colleges' women's basketball team hosted the sixth seeded Mariners of U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in the first round of the 2017 Skyline Conference Tournament on Tuesday night. Seeded third, Sage posted the 64-47 win to advance to the semifinals which will take place on Thursday, February 23 at No. 2 seeded Mt. St. Mary College at 8 p.m. With the win, Sage improves to 18-8 overall, while the Mariners' season ends with a 12-13 mark.
King's Point led 15-14 at the end of the first quarter before the Gators held a 28-22 lead at the break. By game's end would watch their lead grow to 17 points in the final quarter of play en route to the team's third victory of USMMA this season. In the pair of regular-season contests, Sage posted a pair of wins (69-47 on Jan. 11 and 52-43 on Feb. 11).
Sage's victory was highlighted by the play of junior forward Genevieve Schoff (Little Falls, NY/Little Falls) as she collected her 1,000th career point at the 5:13 mark of the first quarter. By game's end, she had 13 points with five rebounds. She now has 1,009 career points and is the sixth player in Sage women's basketball history to achieve 1,000 or more points. Schoff is also waging an assault on some other career marks at Sage as she now has 298 career made free throws, just two shy of tying the record of 300 held by Jocelyn Naple (1994-1998), while her 645 career rebounds is third best.
Sage's sophomore guard Emily Parslow (Fonda, NY/Fonda-Fultonville) exploded for a personal-best 23 points in the contest, bettering her previous high of 20 points. She shot 9-17 from the floor with six rebounds, six assists and three steals.
One week ago, Sage's senior guard Frankie Pearson (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls Central) also joined the Gator 1,000 point club and on Tuesday night she finished with 11 points in the Skyline Tournament with five rebounds, five steals and three baskets from down town. Already the all-time three-pointer leader at Sage, she has 188 three-pointers. She has 1,028 career points as she moved into fourth on all-time list surpassing Elizabeth Pearl (1,026 points, 1987-1991). Pearson also has now played in 105 games at Sage, another all-time mark for a women's performer.
Rookie Gessica Patrgenani (Troy, NY/Lansingburgh) finished with seven defensive rebounds off the bench in the win.
King's Points rookie forward Shelby Peters (El Dorado Hills, CA/oak Ridge) had a double-double on 14 points and a game-best 16 rebounds. She added three blocked shots and shot 6-of-9 from the floor with a perfect 2-2 effort from the line. Freshman guard Kaliegh D'Arcy (White Plains, NY/White Plains) added 12 points with six boards, two blocked shots and two assists, while senior guard Allie Drake (Centereach, NY/Sachem East) added 10 points and five rebounds for the Mariners in the action.
The championship game is slated for Saturday, February 25 at the home court of the highest remaining seeded team after Thursday's semifinal games. The Skyline Conference champion will garner an automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Division III championship.
