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MEDFORD, Mass. – The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Champion State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team (24-3) makes its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament this Friday at Tufts University where they will face off with New England Men's and Women's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) champion No. 16 Babson College (25-2).
 
New Paltz reached the NCAA Tournament by earning the SUNYAC's automatic qualifier after defeating SUNY Geneseo in the SUNYAC Women's Basketball Tournament final, 64-53, on Saturday at the Hawk Center to earn their first-ever SUNYAC title. Babson qualified for its fifth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the NEWMAC title for a fifth-consecutive season.
 
TICKETS WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR: Prices are $6 for adults, $4 for students and children and $3 for senior citizens. Tufts student tickets are free with their college ID. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. on Friday and 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
 
RECORDS AND MILESTONES: With 24 wins thus far, New Paltz set a women's basketball program for wins in a season. In the Hawks' final regular season game, an overtime loss to SUNY Oneonta, senior forward Alex McCullough (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) became the first New Paltz women's basketball player in 13 years to reach the 1,000-point career milestone, becoming just the third student-athlete in program history to do so. Senior guard Maliqua Fisher (North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon) currently sits just 26 points shy of the same landmark. Over the course of the season, McCullough also extended her program record for career blocks, which currently stands at 155.
 
HONORS AND AWARDS: Head coach Jamie Seward was named SUNYAC Coach of the Year after leading New Paltz to the regular season and conference tournament championships. McCullough was named to the All-SUNYAC First Team for the first time, making her third All-SUNYAC team. Fisher earned Second-Team All-SUNYAC honors for the second time, good for her third appearance on an All-SUNYAC team as well. Throughout the season, McCullough was named ECAC Div. III Upstate Women's Basketball Player of the Week once, along with two SUNYAC Women's Basketball Player of the Week honors. Fisher earned the final SUNYAC Player of the Week award of the 2012-13 season after being named 2013 SUNYAC Tournament MVP. McCullough and freshman forward Michelle Valle (New York, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Science/Mathematics) each made the All-Tournament team.
 
STATISTICAL LEADERS: While the Hawks did not have a single scorer in the top-10 in the SUNYAC, they currently have six student-athletes with scoring averages of 6.1 points per game or better, including three scoring 9.3 or better. McCullough leads the Hawks with 10.9 points per game, as well as 1.9 blocks per game. Valle stands second on the team with 9.9 points per game, while leading the squad with 8.2 rebounds per game. Fisher and senior guard Kahsyrah Bryant (North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon) average 9.3 and 8.4 points per game, respectively. Fisher enters the NCAA Tournament with double-doubles in four of her last five games, averaging 13.0 points and 11.4 rebounds per game over that stretch.
 
HEAD COACH JAMIE SEWARD: After this record-breaking regular season and successful SUNYAC Tournament, Seward has improved his overall record to 129-60 as the New Paltz women's basketball head coach, making him by far the winningest coach in program history. He has never missed a SUNYAC tournament over his tenure in New Paltz, and finally made it over the hump this year to win his first SUNYAC title. This year is also the first time his team has finished the regular season atop the conference.
 
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS: As stated previously, this year marks the fifth-straight season in which Babson has won the NEWMAC title and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. In each of their last four NCAA appearances, the Beavers have lost to Amherst College, once in the first round, twice in the Elite Eight and most recently in the second round of the tournament. The Beavers' only two losses this year came at the hands of DePauw University and Williams College, both of which also qualified for this year's NCAA Tournament. The Beavers are led by Sarah Collins, this year's NEWMAC Women's Basketball Player of the Year, who leads the team in points (18.9), rebounds (13.7), steals (1.5) and blocks (3.2) per game. The Beavers feature four starters that stand 5-foot-9 or taller, including Collins who stands 6-foot-2. Head coach Judy Blinstrub is in her 29th season at Babson. This year, she won her eighth conference title and has improved her overall record to 575-259.