On the heels of winning its third straight Liberty League title and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, it comes as no surprise that
Ithaca College has been selected the unanimous favorite in the 2022-23 Liberty League Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll in a vote by the conference’s head coaches.
The Bombers received nine first-place votes (coaches aren’t allowed to vote for their own team) and earned 81 points for top honors in this year’s poll. Vassar College was selected to finish second with 63 points and a first-place vote while St. Lawrence University rounded out the top-three with 59 points. Skidmore College was picked fourth with 54 points; only two points ahead of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT, 52), who narrowly edged William Smith (51) for fifth. The Herons were followed by Union College (36), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI, 28), Clarkson University (17) and Bard College (9).
Ithaca closed out the 2021-22 campaign with an overall record of 25-4, which included a program-best 20-game win streak, and a 17-1 mark against conference opponents. The Bombers earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the 17th time and reached the second round before falling in overtime. Despite the graduation of six, including All-Liberty League First Team selection Grace Cannon, the Bombers are poised to continue their successful run within the conference. A trio of players will lead this year’s squad in Cara Volpe, Camryn Coffey and Lindsey Albertelli, who all played in all 29 games last season. Volpe was an All-Liberty League Second Team honoree; she was tops on the team in field-goal percentage (.529) and second in scoring, averaging 9.2 points per game. She also produced 2.3 assists per game, good for 11th among league leaders. Albertelli and Coffey will also bolster the offense after ranking fourth and fifth on the team in points per game at 6.7 and 6.2 respectively. Albertelli paced the team in blocks (37) and was second in rebounding with 147 (5.1 RPG).
Vassar wrapped up last season with a 17-8 overall mark and a 16-1 record in Liberty League play. The Brewers earned the second seed of the conference postseason before falling in the semifinals to St. Lawrence. With only two players graduating, Vassar will look to a strong supporting cast to step up in 2022-23. The Brewers are headlined by the return of Eliza Srinivasan, the Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year. She boasted a team-high 49 steals, ranking her second among league leaders. She was also second in assists (97) and third in assist to turnover ratio (1.5). The Brewers had the fewest turnovers of any Division III team, ending the year with 277. Srinivasan also contributed to the offense with 7.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. She will be joined by classmate Alex Lee, who averaged 7.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in 20 games for 2021-22. Julia Harvey and Tova Gelb are also back following strong rookie campaigns as the duo started all 25 games last season. Harvey was second on the team in steals (44) and third in scoring with 11.8 points per game. Gelb was second on the team in blocks (11) to go along with 161 points (6.4 per game) and 100 rebounds (4.0 per game).
St. Lawrence finished the year at 22-5 and went 14-4 against conference foes. The Saints were the third seed of the Liberty League Women’s Basketball Championship and they moved on to the title game for the first time since 2014-15. Heading into the 2022-23 season, St. Lawrence will be a young squad with seven underclassmen on the roster. A core nucleus of returning players does bring some veteran leadership to the court, including seniors Olivia Barringer and Olivia Middleton. Barringer was one of the league’s top rebounders, she was ranked among the top-10 with 7.1 per game (135) last year. She also chipped in 188 points (9.9 per game) through 19 games. Middleton also played in 19 games for St. Lawrence with 8.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.
Skidmore returned to the postseason for the first time since 2018-19 last year as the Thoroughbreds earned the sixth seed in the Liberty League tournament and finished at 14-10 (9-9 Liberty League). With the departure of only two players and four starters back in Saratoga; Skidmore will look to make some noise in the standings this season. Kate McCarney returns after playing and starting in all 24 games last season, she led the team in scoring (11.9 per game) and assists (47). The Thoroughbreds also welcome back Julia Blanck after averaging 10.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game last season. She was tops on the team in blocks with 44 and second in steals (26). Cassie Davidson (5.9 PPG) and Becca Horger (3.4 PPG) are also key returnees for Skidmore.
RIT will look to improve upon an overall record of 12-12 (9-9 Liberty League) and extend its conference postseason streak to seven straight heading into the 2022-23 campaign. Kaleesha Joseph, an All-Liberty League First Team Selection highlights the returning players. She produced a program-best 53.4 field-goal shooting percentage last season and led the team offensively with 17.0 points per game. She recorded six double-doubles on the year and boasted a team-best 9.4 rebounds per game. Teammate Emma Waite also earned All-Liberty League honors last year as an honorable mention honoree. She finished second on the team in scoring (13.2 PPG) to go along with a team-best 75 assists and 39 steals. Sydney Pearson is also back after contributing 162 points (6.8 PPG) and 90 rebounds (3.8 RPG) last season.
William Smith (8-17, 7-11 Liberty League) opens the 2022-23 season as a young team with nine underclassmen as the Herons eye a return to the Liberty League tournament after a year’s hiatus. The squad will be led by a trio of players that started all 25 games last year. 2021-22 Liberty League Rookie of the Year Brooke Jarvis is back after a breakout season. She recorded points in double figures in 22 of 25 games en route to finishing the year second on the team in scoring and third in the league with 17.6 points per game. She was third on the team in rebounds (7.6 per game) and paced William Smith in blocked shots with 14. Lauren DeVaney will be a significant contributor after posting a team-high 10.8 rebounds per game to go along with 11.8 points per game last year. Kerstin Kelly rounds out the three returning starters for the Herons, she averaged 6.1 points per game (153 total) in 25 games.
Union will attempt to build upon the way it finished the 2021-22 campaign with 10 wins in the Dutchwomen’s final 14 games of the season as they seek to improve upon a 13-13 overall record this year. The Dutchwomen will have a veteran presence on the court with four seniors and five juniors to open 2022-23. Two of the team’s top-four scorers from a year ago are back in Megan Lee and Olivia Pachla. Lee was second on the team in points per game with 10.3 and she grabbed a team-leading 185 rebounds (7.1 RPG). She also was tops on the team in field-goal percentage (.471), steals (40) and minutes per game (29.7). Pachla averaged 6.8 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game. She led the team and league with 52 blocks (2.0 per game).
With the graduation of only four and a senior class of seven,
RPI will be a seasoned squad for 2022-23. The Engineers open the season with all four of their top offensive threats from last season back in Troy. Ashlyn O’Neil was the team’s scoring leader with 10.4 points per game and she was second on the team in rebounds (5.0 RPG) to go along with 28 assists and 23 steals. Nicole DaPra was second on the team with 9.8 points per game and produced a team-best free throw percentage (.762). Lolo Reynolds and Heather Converse are also key returnees for the Engineers. Reynolds paced RPI in assists (76) and blocks (13) while also contributing 194 points (8.4 PPG). Converse averaged 8.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game in 24 games.
A year of experience should translate well on the court for
Clarkson as the Golden Knights welcomed nine first-year players to Potsdam last season. Cassidy Dumont emerged as the team’s top rookie and played in all 24 games. She led the team with 230 points, averaging 9.6 per game and she boasted a team-high 27 steals. Mariah Benevides played and started in 23 games, where she compiled 209 points (9.1 PPG). She finished the year sixth among league leaders in three-pointers made (41). Ruth Nolan (23 games) and Lauryn Withrow (16 games) are also back after averaging 7.2 and 5.9 points per game respectively.
Bard will have big shoes to fill with the graduation of Christina Kiser, who paced the team and league in scoring (502 points, 23.9 points per game), steals (44) and free throws made (170) last season. She is now Bard’s all-time scoring leader with 1,504 points in three seasons. The Raptors do welcome back seven players, including Mae Redmond who saw time in all 23 games last season. Redmond recorded 112 points (4.9 PPG) and grabbed 65 rebounds (2.8 RPG). Maggy Peyton and Thalia Grandinetti also return after seeing limited action last season. In 17 games, Peyton recorded a team-high 17 blocks to go along with 75 points (4.4 PPG) and 107 rebounds (6.3 RPG). Grandinetti, played in 13 games and made five starts, she finished third on the team in scoring with 7.4 points per game (96 total).
The 2022-23 Division III Women’s Basketball season gets underway on Tuesday, November 8, when four league teams will see non-conference action. Union, Clarkson and Vassar are all on the road and Ithaca has its home opener. Conference play begins on Friday, December 2.
2022-23 Liberty League Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll
Place. Team, Points
1.Ithaca, 81 (9)
2. Vassar, 63 (1)
3. St. Lawrence, 59
4. Skidmore, 54
5. RIT, 52
6. William Smith, 51
7. Union, 36
8. RPI, 28
9. Clarkson, 17
10. Bard, 9
(First-place votes are in parentheses)