The State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team worked all season to get back into the NCAA Tournament and on Friday the road to its first national championship begins when the Hawks takes on Husson University in the Hawk Center.
 
"I think as a team we are beyond excited to be here," said SUNY New Paltz senior forward Philesha Teape. "Our freshmen are excited to showcase what they have in their first NCAA appearance. Our returners who have experienced this already are excited to experience it again, but we're here with a sharper focus. We're here to win and we're here to go as far as we can in this tournament."
 
The Hawks (24-3) are coming off their second-straight State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) title after defeating SUNY Cortland on their home floor. With an automatic bid locked up, they were chosen, also for the second consecutive season, as the host for the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. SUNY New Paltz rolled through its opening two games last year, defeating Rutgers-Camden and Emmanuel by nearly 30-plus points to clinch their second appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16.  
The Hawks will have a tough matchup this time around Friday, taking on Husson University (19-8 overall), which is coming off its fifth-straight North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Championship title. Sixt-foot, three-inch freshman center Bailey Donovan was named the NAC Rookie of the Year after earning NAC Rookie of the Week 10 times throughout the year. Donovan held the best field goal percentage in all of Division III, shooting above 65 percent from the floor, while registering 14.5 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. Senior guard/forward Joan Overman was named Defensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-NAC, while coach Kissy Walker earned NAC Coach of the Year honors.
 
"Going into that game plan the one thing we noticed about that team is their size," Teape said. "You can say [they] have a size advantage over us, so we have to play with particular focus on defending the post and making sure we don't get beat on the post or rebound. I think that will be our focus in this game and making sure that we lock in on post-ups and not letting them get so many opportunities, especially on rebounding and on the offensive glass too."
 
The Eagles went undefeated in conference play with their eight losses coming against St. John Fisher College, Bates, Division I's University of Maine, Hamline, Wisconsin-Stout, Bowdoin and Colby. As a team they average about 66 points per game, while shooting 41.1 percent from the field and just less than 34 percent from 3-point range. 
 
If the Hawks get past Husson they will face the winner of DeSales (23-4) and Smith College (24-4), which will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. in the Hawk Center Friday. The Bulldogs are also coming off an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance last year and earned its eighth Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom Championship last weekend. The Pioneers defeated MIT, which SUNY New Paltz also beat earlier in the season, 76-56, in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship to claim their first conference title in program history and earn an automatic bid into the tournament.

"The difference here is that it's all or nothing. You win or you go home, and I think that's what's really amazing about the NCAA Tournament," Teape said. "Forget about what you did in the regular season and forget what you did in your playoffs. If you win your conference championship or not, once you step on that court everyone is on a zero-zero playing field. You really have to go out there and execute your defense, execute your offense and make sure you are the best team coming out of that game, because that could be your last game. I think that's what makes the NCAA Tournament different than everything else."  
Teape leads the Hawks with 7.4 rebounds per game and seven double-doubles on the season, while averaging 8.1 points a contest. Fellow senior Marion Dietz paces the team offensively; averaging 13.8 points per game and was named Second-Team All-SUNYAC. Senior forward Paige Niemeyer was also named Second-Team All-SUNYAC and leads the team in blocks and assists, while totaling 9.7 points per game. Senior forward Maddie Van Pelt was named First-Team All-SUNYAC after averaging 13 points, seven rebounds and 2.5 steals per game and is coming off one of her most dominating performances of her career, registering a career-high 25 points with 13 rebounds in the Hawks' SUNYAC Championship win over the Red Dragons.
 
SUNY New Paltz enters its fifth trip to the NCAA Tournament and fourth appearance in five years. Teape, Dietz, Niemeyer and Van Pelt bring a wealth of experience, playing in their seventh NCAA game of their careers, and are looking to carry the team to their deepest run in the program's history, starting with Husson Friday in the Hawk Center where they have yet to lose all season.
 
"I have so much confidence in our veteran players as well as our incoming freshmen, and Nicole, our junior, that once that ball goes up that we are going to give it our all on that court," Teape said. "I most definitely think that among the seniors we know the urgency of this game and that we are going to lock in and do whatever we can to make sure that we come out of this with a win. In regards to our underclassmen, they know the urgency that they are playing. Even though they have three more years left in this program and playing basketball, all that matters is this game right now. So I think once that ball goes up we'll be locked in ready to play."
 
SUNY New Paltz will tip-off against the Eagles Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the Hawk Center.
 
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