Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Women's Basketball team will travel to the University of Saint Joseph on Saturday in both team's 2018-19 season opener. Tip-off with the Blue Jays is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. with live stats and video available for those unable to attend.

A Look At The Knights: Mount Saint Mary is coming off a 2017-18 season that saw it post a 21-7 overall record and a 17-1 mark in Skyline Conference play.

Mount Saint Mary returns an All-Conference selection from a season ago in Kayla Cleare (West Hempstead, N.Y.) as well as two-time Skyline Conference Coach of the Year in Michael Coppolino.
The Knights lost only four players from last season's 21-win squad, returning 67 percent of the scoring from last year.

Backcourt: The Knights return five players in the backcourt from last season, including senior Maite Gritsko (Milford, Conn.), juniors Jordyn Hellpap (Hackensack, N.J.) and Lyndsay Pace (Cranford, N.J.) and sophomores Katie Smith (Goshen, N.Y.) and Erin McCauley (Levittown, N.Y.).

Gritsko started 24 games and contributed 32 assists to along with 25 steals. She added 1.9 points per game and 2.3 rebounds per outing for the Mount.

Hellpap started 26 games and led the Knights with 33 three-pointers, averaging just shy of six points per game, while Pace rounded out the year contributing 46 assists and 29 steals along with 5.8 points per game.

Smith started all 28 games as a freshman, leading the team in assists with 88 and chipping in with 7.6 points as well as second on the team in three-pointers made with 23. McCauley appeared in 25 games, adding 1.8 points and 1.4 rebounds per game.

Coppolino welcomes four players to the position group for the 2018-19 season in Julia Lavin (Ledyard, C.T.), Toriana Tabasco (Hillsdale, N.J.), Kaitlyn Wolff (Holtsville, N.Y.) and Cameron Villanueva (Columbia, C.T.).

Frontcourt: The frontcourt is headlined by Cleare who was tabbed Second Team All-League as a junior. The group also welcomes back juniors Elizabeth Limonta (Stewart Manor, N.Y.) and Kassidy Hallum (Lake Grove, N.Y.), as well as sophomores Morina Bojka (Prospect, Conn.) and Gabriella Rafaniello (Brooklyn, N.Y.).

Cleare shot 50-percent from the floor last season, pouring in 10.9 points per game and hauling in 8.7 boards per contest. She led the team in rebounding average and was second in blocks with 34.

Limonta shot 57.7-percent from the floor in 28 games played and averaged 8.4 points and 7.4 rebounds to go along with a team-high 36 blocks. Hallum appeared in 16 games for the Knights and knocked down six three-point field goals. Bojka appeared in 26 games, averaging 3.7 points and 2.2 rebounds. Rafaniello appeared in 13 games in her first season as a Knight, dishing out 13 assists.

Five players have been added to the position group in Kylie Sisto (Ballston Lake, N.Y.), Lauren Desrats (Warwick, N.Y.), Kerri Hauser (Gloversville, N.Y.), Rileigh Wheeler (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Annie Keenan (Nesconset, N.Y.).

Strong Starts: The Knights have won the season opener in each of the last three seasons.

Preseason Prognostications: The Knights have been picked to finish second in the Skyline Conference Preseason Poll, garnering 68 points and a first place vote. Old Westbury sits atop the rankings, 11 points clear of the Mount, with St. Joseph's-LI, USMMA and Farmingdale State rounding out the top five.

The Schedule: After opening on the road on Tuesday against the University of Saint Joseph, the Knights will return for a four game homestand, opening Skyline Conference play against Yeshiva on November 29. The Knights will play 14 homes game this season, including a three game home stand from December 8-31.

What's Next: The Knights play host to Misericordia on Saturday, November 17^th in their home opener. Tip-off at the Kaplan Center is scheduled for 2 p.m.