Sage women punch their finals ticket, Gators top MSMC, 52-32

February 23, 2017

Sage women punch their finals ticket, Gators top MSMC, 52-32

Russell Sage College

19-8

Mt. St. Mary College

19-6

Final

Russell Sage College 19-8

Mt. St. Mary College 19-6

SAGE ADVANCES TO SKYLINE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP; GATORS TOP MSMC 52-32

Newburgh, NY- Seeded third in the 2017 Skyline Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, Sage's team travelled Thursday night to face second seeded Mt. St. Mary College in the semifinals. With the 52-32 win, Sage improves to 19-8 overall and will face the defending league champions SUNY-Old Westbury in the finals on Saturday. The finals will take place at SUNY-Old Westbury on February 25 at 2 p.m. in a rematch of the 2016 championship game that saw the Panthers beat Sage, 57-43 at Kahl Gym.

After leading 29-22 at the half, Sage held the Knights to just 11 second half points and cruised to the 52-32 win. The Gators shot a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line, while making six three-pointers in the first half (6-11) and holding the Knights to just 11.1% from beyond the arch in the contest.

Sage's sophomore guard Emily Parslow (Fonda, NY/Fonda-Fultonville) tallied 14 points to lead the Gators and buried three of the team's three-point baskets. Junior forward Genevieve Schoff (Little Falls, NY/Little Falls) added 13 points with five rebounds, three blocks and two assists. She ranks fifth all-time in scoring at Sage, while adding 1,022 points. She made all seven of her free throws in the game and cruised to the program's career record for most made free throws as she now has 305. She broke the record of 300 held by Jocelyn Naple (1994-1998), while her 650 career rebounds is third best and her and her 95 career blocks is No. 2 all-time at Sage.

Sage's senior guard Frankie Pearson (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls Central) added 11 points and added three baskets from three-point land in the action with three rebounds and two steals. Already the all-time three-pointer leader at Sage, she has 191 three-pointers and 1,039 career points and is fourth on all-time scoring list. Pearson also has now played in 106 games at Sage, another all-time mark for a women's performer.

The Gators have now won 15 or more games in each of the last four seasons, including a program best 21 wins last season. Only in her third season at Sage, head coach Allison Coleman owns an impressive 58-22 record at the helm of the Gator team.

Schoff leads the team with her 386 points, which fourth highest among single-season efforts. She also leads the team on the boards with 255 rebounds and a 9.4 rpg average with 37 blocks and 104 made free throws. A starter in 79 of 80 games played at Sage, Schoff has 21 career double-doubles including 11 this season. She has also connected for double-digit performances in 54 games on her career.

The championship game is slated for Saturday, February 25 at the home court of top seeded SUNY-Old Westbury, which beat College of Mt. St. Vincent in the other semifinal contest, 71-57. The Skyline Conference champion will garner an automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Division III championship. Sage, which won the 2015-2016 Skyline Conference regular-season title and finished as the tournament runner-up, will travel to Old Westbury for the 2 p.m. finals on Saturday. The Gators won the program's first Skyline Conference Championship in 2013-2014 and earned the squad's first trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament.