The Mount Ida women’s basketball team begins its quest for its first Great Northeast Athletic Conference tournament championship on Tuesday evening, as the eighth-seeded Mustangs of third-year Head Coach Katie Greene will take on top-seeded Saint Joseph’s (Maine) in league quarterfinal round play on Tuesday evening. Tip-off at the Harold Alfond Center in Standish, Maine is set for 5:30 p.m. EST.
After being picked to finish last in the pre-season conference coaches’ poll, Mount Ida jumped out to the best start in the program’s 19-year NCAA history en route to 13 overall wins (six in GNAC action), which matches the second highest single-season victory total in school history. The Mustangs have earned the ninth overall post-season berth in program history (first since the 2011-12 campaign), with three of those coming in the GNAC and the other six when the College was members of the North Atlantic Conference.
Greene, a former standout at Pine Manor and head coach at Newbury, has received contributions from her entire roster throughout the season. Mount Ida is led in both scoring and rebounding by sophomore Valerie Martin (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton Academy), who averages 16.1 ppg and 8.7 rpg while also leading the Mustangs in both steals (65) and blocks (11). Senior co-captain Breanna Muir (Wareham, Mass./Wareham) follows at 10.7 ppg and 3.6 assists per contest for the Mustangs, as she set the school career assists mark (226) on February 10th against Emmanuel and ranks second on the team with 36 three-pointers.
Senior Imani Bumpus (Dedham, Mass./Capital Prep) is next at 9.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg and 2.1 steals per outing for Greene’s squad, which has received 9.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg and 40 steals from fellow senior Jaime Moscato (Taunton, Mass./Taunton). Senior co-captain Patricia Liotta (Hampton Bays, N.Y./Hampton Bays) rounds out Mount Ida’s starting lineup at 8.3 ppg that includes a team-leading 37 three-pointers to date, while sophomores Alisa Benson (Middletown, R.I./Middletown) and Jessica Cyr (Ashford, Conn./E.O. Smith) have combined to appear in all but one game this winter to average over six points and nearly four rebounds per contest.
Freshman Melody Millett (Naples, Maine/Lake Region) and Caity Oliver (Oviedo, Fla./Oviedo) have also provided solid play off the bench during their respective rookie seasons, as the duo has combined to play in 44 games and average over four points per contest, while sophomore Taylor Churchill (Fort Fairfield, Maine/Fort Fairfield) has connected for five three-pointers in 21 appearances this year. Mount Ida has been one of the top free throw shooting teams in the region throughout the winter, as the Mustangs connected a 74 percent clip from the charity stripe and have recorded 48 more steals than their opponents.
And speaking of the opposition, Saint Joseph’s is certainly a formidable one, as the Monks of Head Coach Mike McDevitt bring a 24-1 overall mark that includes a perfect 16-0 GNAC regular season slate into Tuesday’s action. Saint Joseph’s, the two-time defending conference champions, has not lost a game in over three months, as McDevitt’s squad sports a 23-game winning streak after an early season setback to Babson. The Monks are led by junior Kelsi McNamara’s 17.7 ppg and 5.6 apg, while fellow junior Emily Benway follows at 12.6 ppg and 7.2 rpg. Junior Julia Champagne is next at 12.5 ppg and 5.7 caroms per contest, while junior Hannah Marks also averages in double figures at 11 ppg to date.
Mount Ida is making its second visit of the season to the Harold Alfond Center, as the Mustangs suffered an 82-45 setback to Saint Joseph’s back on January 16th. Tuesday’s outing will be the 10th all-time meeting between the two schools, as the Monks have won all nine previous match-ups.
The winner of Tuesday’s Mount Ida-Saint Joseph’s quarterfinal will face the winner of the quarterfinal round clash between fourth-seeded Regis and fifth-seeded Albertus Magnus on Thursday evening, and the 2018 GNAC championship game is set for Saturday, February 24th at the site of the highest remaining seed. The league tournament champion will earn the conference’s automatic berth into the 2018 NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championships.
Live stats, video and directions links for Tuesday’s game are available at www.mountidamustangs.com.