Sage women win Skyline tourney
>> Seeded third in the 2017 Skyline Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament, Sage’s women’s basketball team captured the league’s championship on Saturday afternoon, knocking off top seeded SUNYOld Westbury in the finals, 72-66. With the win, Sage earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament and will await news of their placement with the selection show on Feb. 27 at 2:30 p.m.
Sage improves to 20-8 and brings a six-game win streak into the NCAA’s after exacting revenge over the Panthers, who last year beat Sage in their gym in the 2016 Skyline Championship. Old Westbury drops to 23-4 on the season.
Sage’s senior guard Frankie Pearson, a Hoosick Falls grad, was named the Most Outstanding Player in the Tournament after exploding for a career-high 27 points in the finals. Pearson shot 8-for18 with an impressive six three-pointers in the contest. She added three steals and six rebounds after hitting a cool 60 percent from three-point range and had 14 points in the first half as Sage led 37-26. Already the all-time three-pointer leader at Sage, she has 197 three-pointers and 1,066 career points and is fourth on all-time scoring list. Pearson also has now played in 107 games at Sage, another all-time mark for a women’s performer and will add to those numbers when the Gators return to the court in the NCAA tournament this coming week.
Sage jumped out to a 4943 lead to open the fourth quarter before the Panthers The Sage College women’s basketball team poses for a photo after winning the Skyline Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday at SUNY-Old Westbury.
roared back into game cutting the Gators’ lead to just one point 49-48 with 7:59 left to play. Tori Bellings hit a lay-up with 7:59 left to play in regulation to give OW a 50-49 lead. Davida Warren had a jumper seconds later and had the Panthers up 52-49 before rookie Gessica Patregnani, a Lansingburgh grad, hit a jumper to cut the lead to one point.
The Gators have now won 15 or more games in each of the last four seasons, including a program best 21 wins last season. Third-year Sage head coach Allison Coleman owns an impressive 59-22 record at the helm of the Gator team.
Sage, which won the 2015-2016 Skyline Conference regular-season title and finished as the tournament runner-up, last year was picked first in the league’s pre-season coaches’ poll. With the 2017 championship to their credit, Sage has now won two Skyline Conference Championships and a runner-up crown having appeared in the championship game in three of the last four straight years.
Men’s basketball
UNION 71, HOBART 67 >> Tournament Most Valuable Player Deshon Burgess scored 33 points and added five assists to lead Union College to the 2017 Liberty League Men’s Basketball Championship with a 71-67 win over Hobart College at the Viniar Athletic Center Saturday afternoon. The win lifts the Dutchmen to their first league championship since February 26, 2005 when Union defeated Hamilton at Hobart.
Union is now 16-10 and awaits the announcement of the NCAA Division III tournament field on Monday afternoon at 12:30 PM Eastern. Information will be posted at UnionAthletics.com. The Statesmen finish the season 1611. The game was played in front of a loud and boisterous crowd of 1,000 with standing room fans as well. This will be Union’s fourth NCAA playoff appearance and first since current Head Coach Chris Murphy was a starting junior guard in the 2004-05 season. The other NCAA appearances were in 2001-02 and 1982-83.
Wildcats hold off Raiders
MAPLE HILL 51, MECHANICVILLE 45 >> Every time Maple Hill needed a bucket or a stop, Garrett Axtmann seemed to be involved in the play.
The Wildcats senior set the tone for the second half with a 3-pointer that somehow found the net for