DELAWARE, OH. - The SUNY Geneseo women's basketball team faces Washington University in St. Louis in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament, Friday afternoon at 4:45 p.m. in Delaware, Ohio. The Knights enter the tournament with a record of 20-8 and ranked 88th in the NCAA NPI, while WashU enter the pod of four teams as the top seed ranked 14th in NPI. This will mark the first meeting between the two women's basketball programs, and Geneseo's 13th bid to the NCAA tournament, following last year where they reached the round of 16 for the fifth time in program history.

Friday night's winner will turn around the next day to face the winner of Ohio Wesleyan and DeSales on Saturday at 7:15 p.m.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Tickets will go on sale at 3:45 p.m. on Friday, March 6 at Branch Rickey Arena. Tickets are cash only and there will be no presale. One ticket offers admission to both games.

• Adults: $15.00
• Senior Citizens: $10.00
• Children (under 18): $10.00
• Students: $10.00
• Small Children (under 2): Free

Can't make the trip to Ohio? Follow along from home with these links - WATCH | LIVE STATS
Ohio Wesleyan Tournament Home Page

YEAR IN REVIEW
Geneseo opened the year ranked in the pre-season top-25 at No. 22, and began the year with a top-25 match-up against No. 2 Scranton at home, where the Knights were unable to pull off the upset after a promising start to the game, leading 12-8 after the first quarter. The Knights bounced back from the season-opener, rattling off three straight road wins over Manhattanville, Keystone, and Rochester. The Knights non-conference schedule was then highlighted by a one-point victory over RIT, and a dominant performance over Hamilton leading to a 65-49 win.

The Knights opened up Empire 8 play strong, going 7-0 with key wins over Nazareth and St. John Fisher. Geneseo's win over Nazareth proved to be the Golden Flyers lone defeat of conference play, winning 84-79 in overtime powered by six players reaching double-digit points, with senior guard Maggie McGrane leading the way at 20 points while playing 42 minutes of action. Geneseo struggled to pull out multiple close games down the stretch of the regular season, finish out Empire 8 play at 11-5 and the No. 4 seed for the postseason tournament.

Geneseo opened up Empire 8 tournament play by avenging a regular season loss to Sage, defeating the Gators in Schrader Gym 59-41, powered by 18 points and nine rebounds from Grace Galgano. The Knights then traveled to top-seeded Nazareth for the semifinals, and came away with another stellar defensive performance, knocking off the Golden Flyers 54-48. Galgano stepped up once again for Geneseo, dropping a huge double-double on 15 points and 13 rebounds. The stout defensive effort in the semifinals limited Nazareth to just 29 percent shooting from the field and 11 percent from the three. The Knights went on the road once more for the championship game, traveling to third-seeded Houghton. Following a 20-point regular season defeat at Houghton in January, the Knights bounced back with another stellar playoff performance, winning the title by a score of 66-52. Following another double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, Galgano was named Tournament MVP. Audrey Hintz and McGrane turned in impressive championship performances as well, scoring 16 and 14 points, respectively.

TWO-FOR-TWO
After 54 years of competition in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC), the Knights made the switch to the Empire 8 for all sports beginning in the fall of 2024. The women's basketball team became one of 12 Geneseo teams to win the Empire 8 title in their first year of competition, and then defended their title this season. During the Knights last two championship runs, they have posted some of their best performances of the season. In those six wins, the Knights have only allowed an average of 50 points per game, with only one of the six opponents shooting above 30 percent from the field.

ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
Geneseo brought home three All-Conference honors from the Empire 8 this season. Grace Galgano highlighted the honors as a First-Team representative, Maggie McGrane picked up Second-Team honors, while Kristin Suydam rounded out the honors on Third-Team. Additionally, Eva Elliot was named to the Sportswoman of the Year Team.

GENESEO IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Geneseo has earned its way back to the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year, following an inspired run to the Sweet 16 a season ago where they upended pod-host Catholic in the first round, then defeated Montclair St. in the next round before falling to eventual National Champion, NYU. Geneseo saw an impressive run from the 2014-15 season to 2018-19, where they earned a bid five-straight seasons and reached the Sweet 16 twice. In the 1992-93 and 1994-95 seasons, the Knights reached the Elite Eight, highlighting another stretch of five-straight seasons where they made the NCAA Tournament. Geneseo enters Friday's game against WashU with an all-time record of 16-12 in the NCAA tournament.

MVG
Senior forward Grace Galgano was the MVP of the Empire 8 Tournament for the Knights, but also led the team all season long in scoring and rebounding. The Brewster, N.Y. native averages 13 points per game and 7 rebounds, while also shooting an impressive 50 percent from the field. Galgano's season was highlighted by 22 points and nine rebounds in a one-point win over RIT, where she scored the game-winning basket with seven seconds on the clock. She also scored 21 points at Nazareth in the regular season, and recorded a 17-point 11-rebound double-double against Brockport.

OWNING THE PAINT
Junior forwards Audrey Hintz and Kristin Suydam were staples of the Knights offense this season, combining to average 19.4 points per game, and 11 rebounds. The duo also shot 48 and 46 percent from the field, respectively, while Suydam led the team with 37 blocks. Suydam's season was highlighted by 19 points and 10 rebounds in a win at St. John Fisher, while Hintz was named All-Tournament Team after dropping 40 points over the three games, including a season-high 16 in the championship.

RUNNING POINT
Senior point guard Maggie McGrane led the Knights offense all season long, averaging 31 minutes per game while posting a team-best 155 assists. The Pearl River, N.Y. native is fourth in the country in total assists, just 19 shy of the lead. McGrane's season was highlighted by 26 points, six rebounds, four assists, and four steals in a win over Rochester, as well as a stellar performance in the championship game against Houghton's press, posting a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and just three turnovers.

EVA ELLIOT EVERYWHERE
Senior guard Eva Elliot led the team in minutes played this season with 868, while shooting a team-best 51 percent from the field. Elliot fills the stat sheet for the Knights while also being one of the leaders of their strong defensive unit. The Penfield, N.Y. native averages 5.6 points per game, 4.7 rebounds, while also being second on the team in assists and steals.

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Geneseo's impressive defensive performances powered their postseason run, holding both Sage and Nazareth below 50 points. The Golden Flyers were third in the conference in points per game at 69, while also second in the league in field goal percentage at 41. The Knights held the top-seed to just 48 points and 29 percent shooting. In the championship game, Geneseo faced off against the league's highest-powered offense, as Houghton led the way in scoring at 76 points per game, and the Knights held them to just 52 in the title game.