The semi-final games of the women's tournament, which will be held at St. Lawrence (23-2 overall and 14-0 in the UCAA), pits the 21-3 Dutchwomen (11-3 in the UCAA) against Rensselaer (16-8/10-4) at 6 p.m. while the Saints take on Hamilton at 8 p.m. The championship is set to tip-off Saturday at 4 p.m.
This will be the third meeting between the two Capital District rivals. Union captured a 79-72 decision in Troy with Rensselaer needing an overtime session to win in Schenectady, 73-69.
Guards, sophomore Melissa Marra (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) and freshman
Kate DeSorrento (Schaghticoke, NY/Catholic Central) pace an offense that is averaging 72.4 points a game. Marra, last year's UCAA “Rookie of the Year” is averaging 11.3 points while DeSorrento is at 11.0. Sophomore forward
Katlyn Cunningham (Clarksbury, MA/Drury) is the team's other double digit scorer at 10.1 and leads the Dutchwomen with her 5.4 rebounding average. Freshman guard
Erika Eisenhut (Mohawk, NY/Mohawk) is averaging 9.9 points a game with 56 assists (second on the team), 65 steals (second), 24 three-point field goals (first) and 50 rebounds.
She will be playing on a court where her older sister Meredith
was a standout and earned last season's WBCA Division III “Playerof the Year” award.
Freshman forward Courtney Shepard (Pittsfield, MA/Pittsfield) has come on strong of late and finished the 24-game regular season as the Dutchwomen's second-leading rebounder (4.9) and fifth-leading scorer (8.6). Three-year starting point guard,
Taryn Scinto (Westwood, NJ/Immaculate Heart Academy), is the glue that keeps this young team (just one senior) together. Scinto is averaging 2.8 assists and 6.7 points to go along with a team-high 70 steals (or an average of 2.92 a game) with 70 rebounds. Scinto is tied for second on the squad (with Marra) with her 23 three-point field goals.
The success of the Dutchwomen's season is spelled: D_E_F_E_N_S_E!!
Union's full-court pressure defense has limited the opposition to an average of 57 points a game while forcing 650 total turnovers, an average of 27.1 per game. The Garnet has been able to take advantage of those miscues, averaging almost 25 points a game as a result of turnovers.
Junior forward Kelly Baker (Cutchogue, NY/Mattituck-Cutchogue) has contributed 34 steals and a team-high 21 blocked shots to go along with her 78 points, 85 rebounds and 30 assists. Sophomore guard
Eileen Lowry Wyckoff, NJ/Ramapo) comes off the bench to play an “In Your Face” type of defense that has produced a multitude of
turnovers including her 21 steals. Freshman guard Nicole Cerniglia (Ridgefield Park, NJ/Ridgefield Park) and sophomore
Emily Scott (Concord, NH/Derryfield) have combined with senior guard
Jill Ring (Brewster, MA/Nauset) and freshman guard Jen Pangburn (Norwich, VT/Hanover) to give the Dutchwomen solid bench depth. Cerniglia is averaging 4.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals while averaging just over 11 minutes of playing time. Scott, meanwhile, is averaging 3.9 points and 3.0 rebounds while averaging 16 minutes.
Eighth-year head coach Mary Ellen Burt has led the Dutchwomen to a three-year record of 67-36.
After finishing the 2001-02 season as NCAA runner-ups and ending with a program record 28-4, expectations remained high for the 2002-03 Saints. However, with the graduation of three starting seniors, including WBCA Division III “Player of the Year” Meredith Eisenhut, no one expected the squad to win its final 16 games and produce the most wins in the program's history.