By: Matt Palisin, Asst. SID
The Fredonia State women's basketball team will travel to Geneseo for the first round of the SUNYAC Tournament on Tuesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
This season, Geneseo owns victories in both meetings, 81-70 and 66-57. The two teams have matched up twice in the post season in past eleven years, with each team claiming one victory.
This year, the Devils enter the tournament as the No. 6 seed following a 10-8 season in the conference. Geneseo, at 13-5, is the No. 3 seed. The top two seeds – Plattsburgh and Buffalo State – get first-round byes.
Eleven years ago the Blue Devils made tournament history following the 2003 season. At the time, eight of 11 teams made the tournament. The Devils were the eighth seed and traveled to Geneseo to take on the regular-season champions. The result was a 66-65 upset as Fredonia State's Amy Bushen connected for a jumper with 20 seconds remaining to account for the winning hoop.
It is believed to be the only time an eight seed beat a one seed in the conference tournament.
Geneseo exacted revenge at the conclusion of the 2006 season, downing the Devils 63-51. That season saw the Devils set program standards for wins (17) and conference wins (11). The team also qualified for the regional ECAC Tournament, defeating Utica in the first round before falling to Oneonta in the second round. That was the last time the Devils clamed a post-season victory.
Fredonia State boasts a number of players ranked in various statistical categories in the SUNYAC.
Becky Hebert leads the league in scoring at 22.7 ppg, which also ranks ninth nationally.
Jaimie Warren's 9.7 rebounds per contest rank first in the SUNYAC, while
Sabrina Macaulay ranks third with 9.2 boards per contest.
Alexis Cheatham ranks second with 5.0 assists per game.
As a team, the Devils rank second at 70.7 ppg while shooting a conference-best 44 percent from the field and 74 percent from the free-throw line. Their accuracy from the charity stripe ranks 27
th in Division III.
The Devils have picked up the pace lately, winning six of their last eight.
Geneseo is led by Shannon McGinnis at 15.0 ppg (sixth in the SUNYAC) and 9.4 rebounds per game (second). Point guard Dana Cohan is third with 4.2 assists per game.
The winner will advance to play second-seeded Buffalo State on Friday at 6:00 p.m. in the semifinals, hosted by top-seeded Plattsburgh.
