Women's Basketball | 2/26/2016 9:00:00 AM

ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's basketball team will be making its 13th straight appearance in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament this weekend, but the first as a No. 3 seed. Ithaca will travel down to Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J. and take on second-seeded St. John Fisher College at 8 p.m. Friday evening in Canavan Arena.

This year's tournament marks the first time it hasn't been hosted by the Bombers since 2007-08, snapping a string of seven consecutive championships with Ithaca as the top seed. Ithaca is 16-6 all-time in the Empire 8 tournament and has won six titles since the conference implemented a four-team championship format.

Tournament Game Times

Friday, Feb. 26 – Semifinals
No. 1 Stevens vs. No. 4 Nazareth – 6 p.m. Live Stats | Video
No. 2 St. John Fisher vs. No. 3 Ithaca – 8 p.m. Live Stats | Video

Saturday, Feb. 27 – Final
Semifinal Winners – 4 p.m. Live Stats | Video

Tournament Homepage

Breaking Down the Championship

No. 1 Stevens Ducks (19-6, 15-1 E8)
Stevens earned the right to host this year's championship due to in-region strength of schedule over St. John Fisher. The Ducks had won nine straight games before suffering a 75-72 loss to Fisher in their regular season finale. Stevens is 10-1 in home games this season and has outscored its opposition by 11.1 points over 25 contests (65.9 to 54.8). The Ducks will be led by conference player of the year Kaitlyn Astel, who averages 15.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Miranda Ripken chips in 11.3 points per contest, while Megan Brown grabs 8.3 rebounds per outing.

No. 2 St. John Fisher Cardinals (22-3, 15-1 E8)
Fisher brings an eight-game winning streak to Hoboken, and 17 of the last 18, with its most recent loss coming at the hands of the Ducks on Jan. 29 in Canavan Arena. The Cardinals possess a well balance team, as eight players have scored more than 100 points and two more are less than four points away. Last season's tournament MVP, Mary Kate Cusack, will once lead the Cardinals' offensive attack with an average of 14.7 points. Cusack also tallies 4.1 rebounds and nearly 4.0 assists and steals per game. Four other Cardinals pull down at least 4.0 rebounds a game – McKenzie Bezon, Bridget Carney, Caroline Robertson and Nicole Robinson.

No. 3 Ithaca Bombers (15-10, 11-5 E8)
Just like Stevens, the Bombers earned a higher seed because of strength of schedule. Ithaca is riding a four-game winning streak, with an average margin of victory during this stretch of 30.7 points. A pair of junior all-conference honorees pace the Bombers' offense in Ali Ricchiuti (10.8 PPG) and Erin Ferguson (10.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 62.7FG%). Jordan Beers landed on the honorable mention team with a per game scoring average of 10.7 and a 35.1 three-point shooting percentage (40-for-114). Ithaca relies heavily on a stingy defense that ranks first in opponent field goal percentage (34.9), opponent three-point field goal percentage (27.6), and second in scoring defense (57.2) and blocks per game (4.7).

No. 4 Nazareth Golden Flyers (18-7, 11-5 E8)
The Golden Flyers bring the conference's top three-point shooting team to the tournament with 218 makes and a 36.3 percentage. Nazareth holds a plus-12.2 margin of victory over 25 games (71.4 to 59.2) and two of the top four scorers in the E8. Lindsey Kelly led the conference at 19.9 points and 10.9 rebounds per game, while Sam Sorge averaged 16.0 a contest, to go along with 67 made three-pointers. Veronica Peck is tops in the E8 in assists per game (4.1) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.8) while adding 9.4 points a game.