Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Women's Basketball team will open play in the Skyline Conference Championship on Tuesday night as the fourth seed when it welcomes fifth seeded Farmingdale State to the Kaplan Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with Live Stats and Video available for those who cannot attend the game.
 
At A Glance: Mount Saint Mary enters Tuesday's Opening Round game on Tuesday at 13-12 overall and with its most wins in a season since posting 18 during the 2012-13 campaign. The Knights have won their last four games entering Tuesday's tilt, winning by an average of 15.5 points per game.
 
Mount Saint Mary is lead in the scoring column by sophomore Jessica Rini (Seaford, N.Y.) who is good for just under 13.0 points per game and is hauling in 8.5 rebounds per outing. Rini is a 40.7-percent shooter from the field and has chipped in 26 assists, 20 blocks and 37 steals through 25 game regular season.
 
Freshman Kayla Cleare (West Hempstead, N.Y.) is averaging nearly a double-double, posting 9.8 points and a team-high 11.0 rebounds per game. She is tied with Rini for the team lead in double-doubles with seven and has blocked a team-high 48 shots. Cleare, who has been named the Skyline Conference Rookie of the Week three times to date, matched the program's single game record for rebounds with 22 against Mount Ida.
 
Megan Kerutis (Merrimack, N.H.) has averaged just over seven points per game heading into Tuesday's tilt and paces the team with 57 assists. Sophomore Janae Graham (Orange, Conn.) has handed out 52 helpers for the Knights and leads the team with 19 three-point field goals.
 
Sophomore Bridget Kelly (Farmington, Conn.) is the Mount's leader in field goal percentage among starters at 44-percent with freshman Elizabeth Limonta (Stewart Manor, N.Y.) hauling in just shy of seven rebounds per night and is shooting 62-percent from the floor coming off the bench.
The Knights are outscoring their opponents by nearly five points per game and are shooting 35.1-percent from the floor as a unit. The Mount is plus 12.7 in rebounding margin and are good for nearly six blocks per game.
 
Head Coach: In his third year at the helm of the Knights, Michael Coppolino has increased the Mount's win total each season, jumping from nine victories and four league wins a season ago to 13 triumphs and 10 league wins in 2015-16 while guiding the Knights to two conference championship appearances.
 
Prior to his arrival at the Mount, Coppolino served as the men's assistant coach at Alfred University.  He helped the Saxons to a record of 15-11 in 2011-12, the highest win total for the men's basketball program at Alfred in 15 years. The team also qualified for the ECAC Upstate Championship for the first time since 2001.
 
A Look At Farmingdale State: The Rams, who were picked as the conference's preseason favorite, enter Tuesday's contest at 9-16 overall and losers of their last two regular season contests. Farmingdale State shoots 31.3-percent from the floor as a team and is outrebounded by 18 boards per contest.
 
Tyra Harrison leads the Skyline Conference in scoring with 22.4 points per game and is good for 4.2 rebounds per game, 3.9 assists per game and 3.4 steals per contest. Camille Romero is scoring just over 13 points per game in 11 contests.
 
The 2015-16 Series: Each team won on its home floor during the 2015-16 season, with the Knights claiming a 54-45 win in Newburgh on January 4 and Farmingdale State earning a 67-60 victory on February 6. In the January 4 win, the Knights held Harrison to half of her season average and allowed Farmingdale State to shoot just 30-percent from the floor. Cleare led three Knights in double-figures with 13 points, adding 13 rebounds.
 
In the road matchup, the Mount was paced by 17 points and 13 rebounds from Rini, but saw Romero and Harrison combine for 37 points. The Rams outscored the Mount by nine points in the fourth quarter to overcome a two point deficit after three periods of play.
 
What's Next: The winner of Tuesday night's contest will travel to top-seeded Sage on Thursday night for the semifinal round. The Gators hold a 20-5 overall record and swept the season series from both Mount Saint Mary and Farmingdale State. 

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