ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College faces host Nazareth in an Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament Quarterfinal on Saturday.
2025 Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament Quarterfinals: Gators (Five Seed) at Nazareth (Four Seed)
Saturday, February 22, 2025 | 2:00 PM | Live Stats| Live Video
#5 RSC Gators (11-14/9-7 E8): Roster| Stats
#4 Nazareth (19-6/13-3 E8): Roster | Stats
Ticket Prices (Cash Only at the Door):
Adults: $6.00
Students and Seniors with ID: $4.00
Children Under 12: Free
RSC Women's Basketball in the Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament History: The Gators are making their fifth appearance in the E8 Championship Tournament…RSC, back in the playoffs for the first time since 2023, reached the semifinals in three of its previous postseason trips, including the finals in 2020.
Head Coach Michael Branche after securing a playoff spot with the win at Utica on February 8: "I'm incredibly proud of this group for the growth they have shown throughout the season. It's been a season of learning and growing that has led to some really special moments. Winning is great and making the playoffs is awesome, but the development of this group on and off the court has been something that I'll remember for the rest of my career."
Gator Bites with Papa John's: RSC finished the regular season by winning eight of its final ten games to secure a playoff berth…The season marked the first with Branche as the Head Coach of RSC Women's Basketball…He had been an assistant women's basketball coach since July 2020…12 players, making up just shy of 94 percent of the team scoring returned for the Gators…The dozen combine with five newcomers on this year's squad…RSC finished the regular season with seven of its last eight games away from home…Senior guard Malena Gereau (Schroon Lake, NY/Schroon Lake Central), junior guard Layla Acosta (Haines City, FL/Haines City), and senior guard Lauren Sanderson (Ravena, NY/Ravena-Coyemans-Selkirk) headline the returning Gators…Acosta was announced as the E8 Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, February 9…She averaged 20.3 points on 45.8 percent shooting to help RSC clinch a spot in the E8 playoffs with a 3-0 week...The junior commenced the week ranked eighth in the Conference in scoring at 13.9 points per-game…She began the week leading the E8 in free throw percentage…Sophomore forward Kallie Hopkins (Millsboro, DE/Poly Tech) started the weekend leading RSC in rebounding a 7.9, good for fifth in E8…Senior guard Olivia Huneau (Cohoes, NY/Cohoes), Sanderson, and Gereau were voted captains of the team.
Up Next: The winner advances to play the winner of top-seeded SUNY Brockport and Elmira, the eight seed, in a Semifinal on Wednesday, February 26.
