Newburgh, N.Y. –  The top two seeds in the 2019 Skyline Conference Championship will square-off in Newburgh as the top-seeded Mount Saint Mary College Women's Basketball team is set to host the second-seeded United States Merchant Marine Academy on Saturday afternoon. Live stats and Video will be available for those who cannot attend the 1:00 p.m. tip-off for the automatic bid in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Admission: Per Skyline Conference rules, admission will be charged for Saturday's contest. Admission for adults will be $5. Students with a valid Skyline Conference institution ID and children under the age of 12 will NOT be charged admission.

At A Glance: Mount Saint Mary has won its last 14 games after defeating Purchase 76-44 in the Skyline semifinal on Thursday and enters Thursday's tilt with a 22-4 overall record and an unbeaten 18-0 conference record. The Knights have not lost a game since a home non-conference loss to New Paltz on January 3^rd and have reached at least 20 victories in a season for the second straight season.

The Knights rank second in the Skyline Conference in scoring defense, allowing only 49.6 points per game, and rank tied for first in the league in field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 30.3-percent over the course of the regular season.

Senior Kayla Cleare (West Hempstead, N.Y.) paces the Mount Saint Mary scoring attack with 12.3 points per game, shooting 49.4-percent from the floor on the season, and leads in blocked shots with 36 on the season. She is tied for first on the team in rebounding average with 8.6 boards per outing. She is just one rebound shy of 1,000 for her career and will become the first Mount basketball player with 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career.

Sophomore Katie Smith (Goshen, N.Y.) is contributing 10.2 points per game and is leading the team in assists with 82. Smith is shooting 45.6-percent from the floor through the regular season and has the highest three-point shooting percentage with 37.0-percent.

Elizabeth Limonta (Stewart Manor, N.Y.) is tied with Cleare for the rebounding average lead with 8.6 on the season and is one of seven players averaging at least five points per game. She is good for nearly 10 points per outing and is second in blocked shots with 13. Freshman Lauren Desrats (Warwick, N.Y.) is good for 8.1 points per game and is second on the team in assists with 64, while freshman Toriana Tabasco (Hillsdale, N.J.) leads the team in steals with 36.

Nationally, the Knights rank tied for fourth in field goal percentage defense, tied for fifth in defensive rebounds per game (31) and 14^th in scoring defense.

Scouting the Mariners: USMMA heads to Newburgh at 21-3 overall after defeating sixth-seeded Farmingdale State 64-35 in the Skyline semifinals. Two of the three losses on the season for Mariners have come at the hands of the Knights.

USMMA is led by freshman forward Lauren Hunter and junior Kaleigh D'Arcy who average a combined 31.1 points per contest. Hunter is fourth in the conference in scoring with 17.4 points per game. Hunter is also averaging 12.2 rebounds per outing, good for a double-double average on the season.

Shelby Peters averages just over nine rebounds per contest and Taylor Hightower rips down 8.5 caroms per outing. Hightower leads in assists with 91 while D'Arcy has 76 helpers on the year. Six members of the Mariners have 20 or more steals on the season and three different players have 30 or more blocks on the year. Hightower leads in steals with 46 and blocks with 52.

The Mariners have the top scoring defense in the conference, only allowing 45.4 points per game. They are fourth in the conference in scoring offense with 62.6 points per contest. Defensively, they are limiting teams to 30.0-percent as a team and 22.2-percent from the three-point line.

Regular Season Series: The Knights took both regular season matchups from the Mariners, defeating them on the road 57-47 and winning a thrilling 57-56 contest just a week ago.

In the road triumph, Cleare finished with 10 points and six rebounds to push her over 1,000 points for her career and break the career rebounding record mark set by MSMC Hall of Famer LaSheena Brown. Cleare finished the game 5-for-10 from the field and now has 1,004 career points and 908 rebounds on her career. Smith finished with 14 points on 7-for-13 shooting and Desrats had 12 points, three assists and three rebounds. Lyndsay Pace (Cranford, N.J.) chipped in 11 points, Annie Keenan (Nesconset, N.Y.) had a game-high eight rebounds and Maite Gritsko (Milford, Conn.) had a game-high three steals.

The Knights finished the game outshooting the Mariners on a slim margin of 37.7-percent to 37.0-percent. The Mount converted 10 second chance points and outscored USMMA 28-8 in points in the paint. The Knights grabbed 15 offensive rebounds and outrebounded the Mariners 37-32.

In the home victory, Cleare was fouled with 0.6 on the clock and knocked down one of two free throws to clinch the Knights unbeaten conference record. Limonta finished the contest with a double-double, scoring 12 points and securing 14 rebounds. Cleare added 14 points and eight boards while Pace chipped in 11 points, four rebounds and a team-high three steals. Smith finished with seven points and a team-high three assists.

The Knights finished the game shooting 38.3-percent as a team and made four threes. Merchant Marine finished 39.0-percent from the field and converted five triples as both teams struggled from the free throw line in the contest, shooting a combined 12-for-28.

Skyline Conference Championship History: The Knights are making their second straight appearance in the conference final after dropping last year's final to Old Westbury. The Knights are in search of their first conference crown since the 2011-12 season, the second of back-to-back titles and the 12th in a 13-year span.

What's At Stake: A berth into the 2019 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship. The Knights are in search of their first appearance in the National Tournament since 2012, while Merchant Marine is seeking their first ever trip.