FINISHING ON A HIGH NOTE: It's one thing to just make it to the postseason. It's quite another to enter the championship with momentum on your side. Entering this weekend, the Cardinals have been on a tear lately on both ends of the court. Over the team's final three regular season games, Fisher has allowed just 42 points on average. The team's best defensive effort came against Elmira on February 15th when the Cardinals yielded just 24 points and held the Soaring Eagles to 17 percent shooting from the floor. The defense has been on point, but the offense hasn't been slouching either with Fisher averaging nearly 72 points per game down the stretch.
DOMINANT D CONTINUED: Let's take this a step further. Of the nine teams that compete in the Empire 8, no one had a better defense than Fisher this season. The Cardinals led the conference in scoring defense at a paltry 55.3 points per game and in field goal percentage allowed at .341. Part of what makes Fisher's defense so formidable this season lies in its strength to pressure the ball. To date, the Cardinals rank second behind Stevens in steals per game at 10.4.
ON THE REBOUND: The Cardinals are big. Not just big, they're quick to the ball. Through 25 regular season games, Fisher leads the Empire 8 in rebounding per game at 43.3 and in rebounding margin at nearly nine more boards per game than its competition. Overall, the team features six players that average at least four rebounds per game led by
Ella Eckert's 8.0 boards on average. Senior
Erin Hulbert is hauling in 6.0 per game while
Leah Koonmen (5.0),
Julia Mertsock (4.8),
Mallory Wood (4.2) and
Sydney Masna (4.2) have been instrumental in limiting the opposition's scoring chances this season.
EARLY BLOOMERS: Fisher has benefited tremendously from its freshman class this season. With 12 freshmen on the roster overall, the Cardinals feature six first-year players among their top 10 scorers this season. Eckert, who owns three double-doubles this season, leads the team in both points per game (10.0) and rebounds per game (8.0) while Koonmen is averaging 10.0 points and five boards per game in her inaugural campaign. Wood enters the weekend averaging 6.2 points and 4.2 boards while transfer
Julia Mertsock provides a spark off the bench with 5.3 points and 4.2 rebounds.
Miranda Lynch has proven to be one of the top shooters in the conference as she leads Fisher in 3-pointers (34). Head coach
Melissa Kuberka has also received strong contributions from
Sam Fischer,
Maisy Booth and
Alyssa Ballou.
WE'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE: Friday won't be Fisher's first rodeo as the Cardinals have reached the Empire 8 Championship in 12 consecutive seasons. Last year, the Cardinals finished the season at 15-1 to hold the top overall seed. In all, Fisher has won the Empire 8 title four times with its last championship coming in 2015-16.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP: Despite having a dozen first-year student-athletes on this year's roster, the Cardinals have been guided by the leadership of the team's lone senior,
Erin Hulbert. Hulbert, who was named the Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year last season, has been the heart and soul of the Cardinals in 2018-19. Entering the weekend, Hulbert is averaging 9.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while her 4.4 assists and 2.0 steals per game leads the team. One of the more well-rounded players to ever don the Cardinals and Gold, Hulbert's career has featured nearly 850 points, 500 rebounds, 300-plus assists and nearly 200 steals and she's not done yet.
SCOUTING NAZARETH: The Golden Flyers are set to meet the Cardinals for the third time this season after taking the previous two meetings during the regular season. Nazareth ranks fifth in the conference in scoring at 63.3 points on average while on the defensive end of the floor, head coach Kelly Dunne's squad also ranks fifth in scoring defense.
The Golden Flyers will rely heavily on Rachel Benedict who leads the Empire 8 in scoring (17.8) and is second in the conference in rebounding at 11.0 per game. Aside from Benedict, Nazareth is getting 12.5 points per game from Jadyn Abrams while Lizzie Straub is averaging nearly eight points per contest this season.
SCOUTING HARTWICK: The Hawks captured the Empire 8 Regular Season Championship by virtue of a 14-2 mark in conference play. Hartwick, which closed out its regular season with 14 wins in its final 15 games, led the Empire 8 in scoring this season at 74.2 points per game while its defense allowed 58.9 points on average – good for third in the conference. The Hawks' high-powered offense also led the Empire 8 in field goal percentage (.435), 3-ppint field goal percentage (.340) and assist to turnover ratio (1.11).
Hartwick features three players that average in double figures in scoring led by Caitlin Corbett's 15.1 points per game. Carly Johnson is netting 14.7 points while Maggie Kirby is posting 10.6 points overall. Like Fisher, Hartwick is also strong on the glass led by Kelly Pine's 7.4 rebounds per game.
SCOUTING STEVENS: The Ducks earned the fourth and final seed in this year's field with a 12-4 mark in the conference standings. Both Stevens and Fisher finished with identical records, but the Cardinals earned the third seed after defeating Hartwick in double overtime earlier this month. The Ducks, who have won two of the last three Empire 8 Championships, are fourth in the conference in scoring at 63.6 points per game, however, they lead the Empire 8 in steals, turnover margin and blocked shots.
Stevens is paced by Jess Broad on the offensive end of the floor at 14.2 points per game while Anna Toke is a walking double-double with 11.8 points and 10.2 rebounds on average. Maddi Hahn is also netting double figures in scoring at 11.1 points per game.
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