While most students traveled back home to celebrate Thanksgiving, the Geneseo women’s basketball team celebrated two victories on Nov. 22 and Sunday Nov. 27. The Knights are off to an energizing start this season, putting up impressive numbers thus far. Geneseo ended November with a perfect 4-0 record, putting them at the top of the SUNYAC division standings.
The women’s winning streak began on Nov. 18 when they steamrolled past Penn State-Harrisburg 69-34 in the Lebanon Valley Tournament in Annville, Pennsylvania. Following the win, Geneseo faced the Lebanon Valley College Dutchmen in the tournament championship, which they went on to win 52-40. Senior guard Bridgit Ryan put up 17 points against the Dutchmen while hitting four of five three-pointers.
Following these successes, the Knights went into Thanksgiving break with a lot of momentum. Back in New York, they traveled to SUNY Morrisville to face the non-conference Mustangs. Great offense led the Knights to their third straight win, defeating the Mustangs by a 30-point margin of 79-49.
To end November, the Knights picked up their fourth straight win against the Misericordia University Cougars on Sunday Nov. 27, winning 69-59. Senior guard Katie Durand was a key player in this game, putting up 16 points. Scoring and stats aside, the team has seemed to find the great dynamic that it’s been accustomed to for the past few seasons.
“It’s become an expectation for our players to compete for championships every year,” head coach Scott Hemer said.
Hemer praises his team on their ability to defend and get rebounds, two things the Knights have done well thus far this season.
The Geneseo women’s basketball team has a history of putting up impressive numbers, records and championship runs. The team consistently wins SUNYAC titles and clinches NCAA Division III Tournament spots, something that is uncommon for teams in a smaller and lesser-known division like the SUNYACs.
With a 4-0 record—and the fact that all four games of their season have been played on the road and were blowouts—it appears as if the women are well on their way to yet another successful season. All expectations will be challenged later in the season, though, when the Knights face prominent conference opponents. This includes SUNY Fredonia, who is ranked second in the SUNYACs and has a 4-1 record.
The Knights’ next game will mark the beginning of conference play this season, as they face the SUNY New Paltz Hawks on Friday Dec. 2 at Geneseo, who are 3-2 this season. The conference opener will coincidentally be the Knights’ first home game of the season, too.
Following Geneseo’s 7:30 p.m. matchup against the Hawks, the Knights will face the SUNY Oneonta Red Dragons on Saturday Dec. 3 at 4 p.m. in Geneseo.