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2014 NCAA WBB

Women's Basketball

Ithaca Women's Basketball to Play Sage in NCAA Regional Semifinal Friday

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ITHACA'S INVITATION: The Ithaca College women's basketball team (23-4) has been selected for the NCAA Division III playoffs. The Bombers, who won the Empire 8 Championship Tournament to claim the league's automatic bid, will host a four-team regional Friday and Saturday, March 7 and 8. Ithaca will face The Sage Colleges (17-9) in an 8 p.m. semifinal with Haverford (23-3) taking on Rhode Island College (20-8) at 6 p.m. Friday's semifinal winners will meet at 7 p.m. Saturday in the regional final.

TICKET PRICES: $6 general admission; $3 students, senior citizens and children

ITHACA vs. REGIONAL FIELD: The Bombers have never played Haverford or Rhode Island College. Ithaca is 1-0 against Sage. They defeated the Gators, 86-50, on Nov. 23, 1985 at Fredonia.

ITHACA vs. 2014 NCAA PLAYOFF FIELD: The Bombers went 1-4 against the playoff field this season. Ithaca split with Empire 8 opponent Hartwick losing to the Hawks 63-60 on Jan. 3, before outlasting Hartwick 70-59 on Jan. 25. Ithaca traveled to tournaments at Amerhst, falling 66-44 to the Jeffs, and DePauw where it suffered a 65-47 setback to the Tigers. The Bombers were edged by John Carroll, 64-62, at Ben Light Gymnasium Jan. 8.

ITHACA IN THE NCAA PLAYOFFS: The Bombers are making their 11th appearance in the NCAA Division III playoffs and 10th in the past 14 seasons. In 1997, Ithaca tied for the Empire Athletic Association title and won a tiebreaker with Hartwick for the league's automatic bid. Seeded sixth in the eight-team East Regional, the Bombers upset third-seeded Binghamton 73-66, and then lost at second-seeded William Smith 81-57. In 2001, the Bombers won the Empire 8 championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA playoffs, beating the University of New England 79-61, before losing at College of New Jersey 68-58. A year later, the Empire 8 champion Bombers received a first-round bye and lost 73-67 to Ohio Wesleyan in the second round. The 2003 season was Ithaca's first selection as an at-large team to the NCAA playoffs. The Bombers beat Brockport 81-68, and St. John Fisher 86-79 in overtime, to advance to the program's first "sweet 16" before losing 57-51 at Rochester. A year later the Bombers lost 64-60 to Cortland in a first-round game. In 2005 Ithaca beat visiting Colby-Sawyer 64-46 in a first-round game and lost 55-52 at Southern Maine in the second round. The 2007 team lost to Gwynedd-Mercy in a first-round game and in 2010 Ithaca lost to DeSales in the opening round. Host Ithaca defeated Elms, 84-37, in the first round of the 2012 tournament, before falling to Bowdoin, 55-51. The Bombers were back in the "sweet 16" in 2013. After defeating Colby-Sawyer and Smith in the regional bracket, Ithaca was edged in overtime, 64-60, at Williams.

THE 2014 PLAYOFFS: The Division III championship provides for a 64-team, single elimination playoff field. The 64 teams include 43 winners of conferences whose champions have been awarded automatic qualification (including Empire 8 champion Ithaca, Skyline Conference champion Sage, Centennial Conference champion Haverford and Little East Conference champion Rhode Island College), 20 teams who did not win their conference championship and one team that is either independent or a member of a conference whose champion does not receive an automatic bid. A total of 16 schools are hosting regionals this weekend. Four-team sectionals will be held at four campus sites on Friday and Saturday, March 14-15. Winners of the four sectional sites will advance to the national semifinals on March 21. The final will take place Saturday, March 22. All games, except the semifinals and final, will be played on the campuses of competing institutions. The finals will be conducted at Quandt Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in Stevens Point, Wis.

ITHACA LEADERS: The Ithaca Bombers won their third consecutive Empire 8 Championship Tournament after claiming their sixth straight regular-season title. On a 15-game winning streak, Ithaca is paced by Empire 8 First-Team selection senior Mary Kate Tierney and classmates Kathryn Campbell and Jenn Escobido who were named to the Second Team. Tierney leads the team with 13.5 points per game, while Campbell and Escobido add 11.1 each. With 11 double-doubles this season, Tierney has a Bomber-best 8.6 boards per contest. Escobido follows with 5.4 and junior Francesca Cotrupe 5.1. Tierney has a dished out 98 assists and junior Samantha Klie 93. Tierney has made 45 steals and Escobido 42. Tierney adds a team-high 25 blocks. Ithaca is converting 43.6 percent of its field goals and 68.7 percent of its free throws, while outrebounding opponents by 8.6 rebounds per game. The Bombers rank third nationally with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.30.