Newburgh, N.Y. – With a 19 point victory over fifth seeded Farmingdale State on Tuesday night, the Mount Saint Mary College Women's Basketball team earned a trip to top-seeded Sage on Thursday for a Skyline Conference Championship semifinal matchup with the Gators. Tip-off in Albany, N.Y. is set for 6:00 p.m. with Live Stats and Video available for those who cannot attend the game.
 
At A Glance: The Knights collected their 14^th win of the season on Tuesday, the most wins in a season since 2012-13, and won a game in the conference championship tournament for the first time since winning the league crown during the 2011-12 campaign.
 
Mount Saint Mary is paced on offense by sophomore Jessica Rini (Seaford, N.Y.) who is averaging 12.8 points per night, while shooting 40.5-percent from the floor. Rini is tied for the team lead in double-doubles with eight and is collecting 8.7 rebounds per outing. She is also chipping in with 37 steals, 27 assists and 22 blocked shots heading into Thursday's tilt.
 
Freshman Kayla Cleare (West Hempstead, N.Y.), who has been named the league's Rookie of the Week three times, leads the team with 11.2 rebounds per game and is just shy of averaging a double-double on the season, scoring 9.9 points per night. Cleare is tied with Rini for the team lead in double-doubles and paces the Knights with 49 blocked shots.
 
Freshman Megan Kerutis (Merrimack, N.H.) has handed out a team-high 58 assists and is averaging just under eight points per game to go along with 3.5 caroms per contest. Janae Graham (Orange, Conn.) leads the team with 19 three-point field goals and sophomore Bridget Kelly (Farmington, Conn.) is good for 7.2 points per game and leads the starting five in field goal percentage at 44.2-percent.
 
Off the bench, the Knights has gotten significant contributions from a pair of freshman in 2015-16. Kassidy Hallum (Lake Grove, N.Y.) is second on the squad with 15 three-point field goals and classmate Elizabeth Limonta (Stewart Manor, N.Y.) is averaging 5.2 points and 7.0 rebounds. Limonta is shooting 61.7-percent from the floor and has posted a pair of double-doubles.
Through 26 games, Mount Saint Mary is outscoring its opponents by 5.4 points per game and after besting Farmingdale State on the glass by 22 on Tuesday is outrebounding its foes by better than 13 caroms per night.
 
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 14 triumphs and 10 league wins in 2015-16 while guiding the Knights to two conference championship appearances, including Thursday's semifinal round.
 
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 Sage: The Gators enter Thursday's game with a 20-5 overall record and a sterling 15-1 mark against league rivals during the regular season. Sage won 15 straight games, including two against the Knights, starting with a win against Albertus Magnus on November 19. The streak came to a close with a non-conference loss to Union on February 1.
 
The Gators feature three players scoring in double-figures through the regular season, with Gen Schoff leading the way with 15.6 points per game. Frankie Pearson, who is connecting on better than two three-pointers per game, is good for 12.5 points per night and freshman Emily Parlsow is posting just over 10 points per game for Sage.
 
Sage is averaging 14 assists per game and is outrebounding its opponents by nearly five per contest. Schoff leads the way for the Gators with just over nine caroms per game.
 
The 2015-16 Series: Sage won both regular season contests this season, posting a 57-34 win in Newburgh and holding off the Knights 62-58 in overtime in Albany. In the initial meeting of the season, the Knights were held to 19.7-percent shooting and were led by eight points and eight rebounds from Cleare. The Gators received 14 points and 11 rebounds from Schoff, who added three assists and a pair of blocked shots.
 
In the overtime game, the Knights went 1-for-9 from the floor in the extra session and Sage went 6-for-8 from the free-throw line in claiming the season sweep. Graham scored a team-high 13 points in the game and Kerutis finished with 11 points and four assists. Cleare paced the team with 13 rebounds and two blocked shots.
 
Sage got 18 points off the bench from Macie Holmes, who connected on five three-pointers, with Schoff adding a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards. Pearson finished off a strong game with 15 points, three assists and three steals.
 
How They Got Here: Sage earned a bye as the top seed to the semifinal round after winning 15 of 16 regular season conference contests.
 
The Knights beat Farmingdale State on Tuesday, pulling away for a 71-52 home win over the Rams. Rini led four players in double-figures with 16 points, while Kerutis posted a career-high 15 points to go along with six rebounds. Kelly chipped in with 15 points and Cleare joined Rini with a double-double after finishing with 12 points and 14 rebounds.
 
Mount Saint Mary controlled the glass on Tuesday, outrebounding the Rams 60-38. The Knights turned 23 offensive rebounds into a 24-8 edge in second chance scoring and dominated the paint, posting a 42-14 advantage in paint points.
 
What's Next: The winner of Thursday's Sage and Mount Saint Mary tilt will hook up with the winner of Old Westbury and Mount Saint Vincent on Saturday for the right to represent the Skyline Conference in the NCAA Tournament. 

Follow the Knights on Twitter@MSMCKnights and on Flickr