WEDNESDAY COVERAGE: LIVE VIDEO (PAY PER VIEW) / LIVE STATS
SAINT MARY-OF-THE-WOODS, Ind. -- The Saint Mary-of-the-Woods women's basketball team has earned the No. 3 seed for the River States Conference Tournament, and will host Point Park University in quarterfinal action on Wednesday Feb. 28 at 5:30 pm.
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods compiled an 18-10 record and a 13-5 conference mark to place 3rd in the River States Conference point system standings that are used to set the tournament field. The point system is designed to provide balance to the unbalanced conference schedule caused by the presence of an East and West Division.
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods will host a River States Conference women's basketball tournament game for the first time in program history on Wednesday night. The Pomeroys 18-10 record under head coach
Terry Bowe marks the most victories and highest winning percentage in a season for Saint Mary-of-the-Woods women's basketball since 2012-13 (19-8). Point Park stands 18-8 overall and finished 11-6 in RSC play this season.
The River States Conference earns two automatic bids to the NAIA National Tournament. The regular season top seed - Rio Grande - has secured one of the league's automatic bids. The second bid will go to the RSC Tournament champion. If Rio Grande wins the tournament, the second automatic bid will be earned by the team that competes against Rio Grande in the RSC Tournament Championship Game.
The full bracket for the 2024 RSC Women's Basketball Tournament is below.
2024 RSC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT BRACKET:
MONDAY FEB. 26
(8) Midway 73, (9) Alice Lloyd 68
(10) IU East 71, (7) IU-Southeast 66
WEDNESDAY FEB. 28
(8) Midway at (1) Rio Grande, 7 pm
(5) Ohio Christian at (4) Shawnee State, 5:30 pm
(10) IU East at (2) Oakland City, 5:30 pm CT
(6) Point Park at (3) Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, 5:30 pm
SATURDAY MARCH 2 - hosted by highest remaining seeds in each matchup after Wednesday
Ohio Christian/Shawnee State winner vs. Rio Grande/Midway winner, TBA
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods/Point Park winner vs. Oakland City/Indiana East winner, TBA
TUESDAY MARCH 5 - hosted by highest remaining seed after Saturday matchups
Semifinal winners, TBA
SMWC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NOTES:
* SMWC is enjoying its best season as an NAIA member in its third year in the River States Conference. SMWC stands 18-10 this year and is 13-5 in RSC play under head coach
Terry Bowe. The previous two seasons of River States Conference basketball ended at 16-11 (8-10 RSC) in 2022-23 and 14-14 (5-12 in RSC) in 2021-22.
* SMWC closed the regular season strong with seven wins in its final nine games.
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Brooklynn Jones leads three players in double figures with a 14.0 points per game average. Jones adds 6.2 rebounds per game and ranks 2nd on the team with 76 assists.
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Madison Fueger adds 13.5 points and a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game. Fueger also ranks No. 2 on the team in steals (53) and blocks (21).
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Irye Gomez is the team's 3rd double-figure average scorer with 12.7 points per game and a team-high 59 three-point field goals. Gomez also leads the team with 62 steals.
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Destiny Thomas ranks third on the team in assists (69) and steals (49) while averaging 7.5 points per game.
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Allyson Hardiek adds 5.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Hardiek leads the Pomeroys with 56 blocked shots.
* Current career statistical leaders for SMWC include:
Points -
Brooklynn Jones 957;
Allyson Hardiek 534;
Abby Worley 527
Rebounds -
Allyson Hardiek 498;
Brooklynn Jones 447
Assists -
Abby Worley 329;
Brooklynn Jones 143
Blocks -
Allyson Hardiek 183
Steals -
Destiny Thomas 97;
Abby Worley 87
POINT PARK WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NOTES:
* Point Park enters the RSC Tournament with an 18-8 record and finished 11-6 overall in the River States Conference this season.
* This marks the second straight year that Point Park and SMWC are facing off in a RSC Tournament Opening Round Game. Last year, Point Park won the contest 84-61 in Pittsburgh.
* Point Park is on a roll entering the RSC Tournament with convincing wins over Ohio Christian (97-79) and West Virginia Tech (94-56) in its last two games.
* Gillian Piccolino (17.0 ppg); Gabriella Legister (15.2 ppg, 11.2 rpg); and Ari Bleda (11.6 ppg) are double-figure scorers for Point Park.
