Newburgh, N.Y. – Coming off a season opening win against Bard on Wednesday, the Mount Saint Mary College Women's Basketball team is set to take on Ave Maria and Middlebury in Boston, Mass. this weekend as part of the Emerson Tip-Off Classic. Live stats for the 6:00 p.m. tip with Ave Maria on Saturday and the 1:00 p.m. tip with Middlebury on Sunday are available for those who cannot attend the games.
 
Season Opener: The Knights put together an impressive season opening performance on Wednesday in which they shot 47.9-percent from the floor in a 77-31 home win over Bard. Three Knights scored in double-figures in the win and 11 players overall found the scoring column on the night.
 
Sophomore Lyndsay Pace (Cranford, N.J.) led the trio in double-figures with a career-high 13 points on the strength of 6-for-10 shooting, with junior Kayla Cleare (West Hempstead, N.Y.) and newcomer Morina Bojka (Prospect, Conn.) totaling 12 points apiece. Cleare led all players in the game with 12 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.
 
Mount Saint Mary hauled in 17 offensive rebounds in the game and finished the night with the advantage in points in the paint 56-6, points off turnovers 32-8, second chance points 22-2 and fast break points 12-0.
 
Scouting Ave Maria: The Gyrenes enter a Friday night contest at Anna Maria (Mass.) with a perfect 3-0 record. Ave Maria posted an 86-58 win over Fisher (Mass.) on Thursday night, with Saturday's tilt being the Gyrenes third game in as many days.
 
Lauren Gillingham is off to a strong start for Ave Maria, averaging nearly a triple-double. She paces the Gyrenes in scoring (16.7), rebounding (10.7) and assists (7.3) and is shooting 43.9-percent from the floor. Sarah Miller paces the team in shooting, converting at 62.5-percent overall, while Jasemine Bateman has hit five of her first eight three-point field goal attempts. Bateman and Emily Acosta are tied for the team lead in steals with five each.
 
As a team, the Gyrenes are averaging nearly 84 points per game and are shooting 44.1-percent overall, 33.9-percent from three-point range and 61.9-percent from the free-throw line. Ave Maria is holding opponents to 28.2-percent shoot and have forced 60 turnovers in three contests.
 
History: Saturday's tilt with mark the first meeting between the two programs.
 
Previewing Middlebury: The Panthers open their 2017-18 season on Saturday against the host Lions before squaring off with the Knights on Sunday. Middlebury posted a 17-8 overall record in 2016-17 and did not loss a player from last season's squad.
 
Sarah Kaufman returns as the team top scorer are posting 10.9 points per game a season ago, while Catherine Harrison is back after hauling in a team-best 8.4 rebounds per outing in 2016-17. Alex Huffman rounded out last year pacing the team with nearly three assists per contest and 2.3 steals per game.
 
History: Sunday's matchup will be the first between the Knights and Panthers.
 
What's Next: Following the weekend, Mount Saint Mary will close out a three game road swing at local foe Vassar on November 21. Tip-off with the Brewers is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.