The 39th annual State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Women's Basketball Championship Tournament kicks off Friday in the Hawk Center on the campus of the State University of New York at New Paltz. Hosting the championship tournament for the third time in four seasons, the top seeded Hawks will take on fourth seed SUNY Geneseo at 5:30 p.m. with second seed SUNY Cortland meeting third seed SUNY Oneonta for the 7:30 p.m. nightcap.
 
All four teams are no strangers to the SUNYAC Final Four. Since the 2009-10 season, the quartet have appeared in multiple semifinal and final contests with the Knights and Hawks appearing in 11 semifinals and Cortland and Oneonta playing in eight and seven semifinals, respectively. Geneseo has made it to the final round eight times, SUNY New Paltz seven, Cortland four and Oneonta three. The Hawks have claimed the championship six times, the Knights three and Cortland and Oneonta once each during that span.
 
Both Oneonta and Geneseo had to play its way into the semifinal round, while the Hawks and Red Dragons earned first round byes.
 
In Tuesday's first round action, Oneonta overcame a slow first quarter to outpace sixth seed Potsdam, 62-45. Leading the Red Dragons with 18 points each were seniors Olivia Dobrovosky and Meg Nardelli, with junior Jenna Harclerode pulling down nine rebounds and sophomore Nadia Brown dishing out seven assists.
 
Across the state, the Knights hosted fifth seed Brockport and held off a 26-point fourth quarter rally by the Golden Eagles for the 67-61 win and their 12th appearance in the semifinal round since 2010. For Geneseo, seniors Lauren Romito and Hannah Stockman each scored 14 points, with Romito totaling five blocks. Junior Kerry Dennin was tops with eight rebounds and sophomore Mackenzie Reigle handed out eight assists.
 
In Friday's first semifinal matchup, SUNY New Paltz (22-3, 18-0 SUNYAC) will take on the Knights (19-7, 13-5 SUNYAC). In the two regular season games between the teams, the Hawks prevailed 64-46 and 67-37 with the latter being SUNY New Paltz's biggest margin of victory over Geneseo in program history which solidified coach Jamie Seward's 300th win.
 
In Friday's second semifinal, the Cortland Red Dragons (21-4, 16-2 SUNYAC) will matchup against the Oneonta Red Dragons (19-7, 13-5 SUNYAC). Earlier in the regular season, Cortland earned tight 52-45 and 51-47 victories over Oneonta.

 
The winners of Friday's semifinals will meet at 4:30 p.m. in the Hawk Center for the SUYAC Championship and an automatic bid into the NCAA DIII Tournament, which begins March 3.
 
By the Numbers & Players to Watch:

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For Geneseo, the Knights have averaged 61.5 points per game on 42.2 percent shooting. They have out rebounded opponents 40.8-31.3 per game; scored an average of 13.3 points off of turnovers and averaged eight steals and 3.1 blocks per game.
 
Topping the Knights has been senior forward Lauren Romito (6'3, Hauppauge, NY), averaging 14.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game with 23 assists 17 steals and 45 blocks. Senior guard Hannah Stockman (5'10, Northport, NY) is averaging 9.7 points per game with 31 steals; junior forward Kerry Dennin (5'11, Northport, NY) is totaling 9.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game with 48 assists and 34 steals; junior guard Kiley Snow has registered 8.5 points per game, while guards, senior Taylor Hansen (5'8, Norwich, NY) and sophomore Mackenzie Reigle (5'7, Batavia, NY) have handed out 76 and 68 assists respectively. Geneseo is coached by Alyssa Polosky (four years, 82-27).
 
The Oneonta Red Dragons as a team have averaged 57.7 points per game on 35 percent shooting and have a 43-36.7 per game rebounding edge. They average about eight steals and three blocks per game. Leading the Red Dragons has been senior guard Olivia Dobrovosky (5'7, Skaneateles, NY) with an 11.5-points and-6.8 rebounds per game average, while adding 51 assists and 49 steals on the year. Senior guard Meg Nardelli (5'10, Wappingers Falls, NY) is next with 9.2 ppg and 28 assists and 26 steals. Junior forward Jenna Harclerode (5'10, Sayville, NY) is registering 6.2 points and 7.6 rebounds per game with 43 assists and 16 blocks; sophomore guard Nadia Brown (5'3, Troy, NY) leads the team with 73 assists; forward/center graduate student Clara Culeton (6'0, Oswego, NY) leads the team with 25 blocks. Oneonta is coached by Daphne Thompson (16 years, 260-142).
 
The other Red Dragons, of SUNY Cortland, are listed third in the latest NCAA DIII Region III rankings. They have outperformed their opponents, averaging 70.3 points per game and have limited foes to 57.4 points against. They have a 42.4-36.5 rebounding margin, scored an average of 17.8 points off of turnovers and averaged 9.7 steals and 3.2 blocks per game. Senior guard Emily Morano (5'7, Olyphant, PA) has topped the scoring chart with 12.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, while adding 44 assists and 50 steals on the year. Senior forward/guard Nyla Longford (5'10, Medford, NY) is averaging 11 points and 5.7 rebounds a contest and recorded 64 assists and 42 steals. Senior guard Casey Travers (5'8, Manorville, NY) has totaled more than nine points per game, while pulling down about four boards a contest with 54 assists, 42 steals and12 blocks. Senior