NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – The fourth-seeded Smith College basketball team (17-11) heads to Endicott to take on eighth-seeded Brandeis University (14-12) in the second semifinal of the 2014 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Women's Basketball Championship on Saturday. The game will begin 30 minutes following the 4:00 p.m. semifinal game between second-seeded Endicott College (21-7) and sixth-seeded Framingham State University (18-11).
Last Meeting: Brandeis defeated the Pioneers 62-33 on November 20, 1999 in the only game between the two programs not under the NEW 6 or NEW 8 banner.
The Series: The Judges have a 10-6 advantage while 15 of the 16 meetings occurred in the NEW 6 (1984-1987) and NEW 8 (1987-1995) eras.
Fast Facts: All even numbered seeds advanced to the 2014 ECAC Division III New England Women's Basketball Championship semifinals…Brandeis upset regionally-ranked and top-seeded Emmanuel, 64-55 on Wednesday night in the quarterfinal round…it was the Judges second win over the Saints this season, including an 80-72 decision in November when Emmanuel was nationally-ranked…Brandeis is in the midst of its first winning season since 2009-2010…Nicolina Vitale and Kasey Dean lead a balanced offense with 9.9 and 9.8 points per game, respectively….Smith defeated fifth-seeded Rivier, 75-67, to take the 2-0 series lead…the Pioneers hosted the Raiders in the quarterfinals for the second time in three years…
Rosa Drummond (Rye, N.H./Portsmouth) moved into first place by herself – in terms of games played in a Smith uniform – on Wednesday and currently boasts 1,464 career points…Drummond is averaging 15.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game in the postseason…
Paulina Solis (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) leads the team with 15.7 points per game in the last three contests…Solis recorded 65 steals in the regular season and boasts a dozen since…Drummond and Solis have combined for 24 of the Pioneers 43 freebies while
Sydney Parkmond (Waterbury, Conn./Chase Collegiate) is shooting 77.8 percent (7-for-9) from the line since the end of the regular season…
Up Next: Saturday's winners will meet at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday to vie for the 2014 ECAC Division III New England Women's Basketball Championship crown.
