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ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's basketball team is set to host the first and second round the NCAA Division III Championship on Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2.
 
The Bombers earned hosting rights after winning the 2019 Liberty League title in an overtime thriller against RIT, 75-73, in which senior Annie Giannone put in the winning layup with just 3.3 second remaining. Senior Meghan Pickell was named Most Outstanding Performer for her career-high 23-point performance.
 
Ithaca will play the second of two games on Friday night. MIT and No. 14 St. Joseph's (Maine) open up the night with a 5 p.m. contest before the Bombers take the floor at 7 p.m. against SUNY Poly. The winner of each game will advance to Saturday's Round of 32 to be played at 5 p.m.
 
This marks the 15^th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history. The Bombers hold an all-time record in the tournament of 14-14.
 
Ithaca's Leaders
 
Junior Cassidy O'Malley leads the team with 15.2 points per game and scored a season-high 28 points in last weekend's Liberty League semifinal win over William Smith. O'Malley also leads the team with 6.0 rebounds and nearly 2.2 blocks per game.
 
Both senior Annie Giannone and sophomore Grace Cannon are second on the team with 9.5 points per game. Cannon is also averaging 5.3 rebounds per game while Giannone leads the team with 4.1 assists and 2.3 steals per game.
 
Earlier in the week, Giannone, O'Malley and Cannon each picked up all-conference honors as Giannone and O'Malley were named All-Liberty League First Team and Cannon received an All-Liberty League Honorable mention.
 
As a team, the Bombers lead the Liberty League in scoring offense as they are averaging 69.2 points per game. IC also averages a 14.8 win margin which also leads the conference.
 
Scouting MIT
 
The Engineers are currently 21-7 overall and rounded out their NEWMAC Conference slate with a 12-4 record. MIT won the NEWMAC Tournament Championship with a 66-50 win over Springfield in which Jocelyn Luizzi recorded a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Senior Kara Holinski leads the Engineers with 11.3 points per game and is shooting 40.5 percent from 3-point range. Three other players are nearing double-digit scoring averages and Taylor V'Dovec is average 9.5 points per game, Christina Antonakakis sits at 9.4 and Kylie Gallagher is at 9.0. Gallagher also leads the team with 6.3 rebounds per game.
 
The Engineers picked up three all-conference awards this season. Antonakakis was named NEWMAC Rookie of the Year while Holinski earned All-Conference First Team honors and Dolly Yuan was named to the All-Sportsmanship team.
 
Should both MIT and Ithaca advance to Saturday's final game, it would be the first time in history that the two teams meet on the hardwood.
 
Scouting No. 14 St. Joseph's (Maine)
 
The Monks enter the NCAA Tournament with a 27-1 mark on the season and finished out their conference slate with a perfect 12-0 record. The first and only loss of St. Joseph's season was in the GNAC Tournament Championship against Emmanuel (Mass.), 65-54. The Monks secured one of 20 at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament this season.
 
St. Joseph's is led by senior Kelsi McNamara, who averages 21 points, 3.6 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game. The Monks also have three other players averaging double-figures: Julia Champagne (13.6 points per game), Emily Benway (12.6 points per game) and Hannah Marks (11.4 points per game). Benway is the leading rebounds as well, as she averages 9.5 per game.
 
McNamara recently picked up her second career GNAC Player of the Year honor and Head Coach Mike McDevitt was named GNAC Coach of the Year. Benway picked up a Second-Team All-GNAC nod for the third straight season while Champagne and Marks each garnered Third Team All-GNAC accolades.
 
Should Ithaca and St. Joseph's face off in Saturday's second round, it would be the first time in history that the two teams have played each other in women's basketball.
 
Scouting SUNY Poly
 
The Wildcats are currently 23-5 overall and rounded out their NEAC schedule with a 15-1 mark. SUNY Poly won the NEAC Championship with a 68-60 win over Gallaudet in the final. The Wildcats first beat Morrisville State, 73-45, in the quarterfinal and Penn State-Abington, 60-47, in the semifinal.
 
SUNY Poly is led by junior Kiersten Leos, who averages 16.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game as well as a 42.2 clip from 3-point range. Freshman Molly Burdick is average 15.6 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds in her first season while senior Rylie Smith is also scoring in double-figures with 12 points per game.
 
The Wildcats garnered three all-conference accolades this season, highlight by two first-team selections. Both Burdick and Leos earned NEAC All-Conference First Team nods while Taylor Aybar was named to the All-Conference Third Team.
 
Ithaca has faced off with SUNY Poly just two times in program history and hold a 2-0 record over the Wildcats. The most recent match up took place in 2012 when IC won 84-52.
 
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Games:
 
Round 1: MIT vs. No. 14 St. Joseph's (Maine) – 5 p.m.
                Ithaca vs. SUNY Poly – 7 p.m.
 
Round 2: Game 1 winner vs. game 2 winner – 5 p.m.