CU Women's Hoops Playoff Preview - at Skidmore (2/22)

Less than 48 hours after returning from Saratoga Springs, the Clarkson University Women's Basketball team will be back on the bus for the same destination as the Golden Knights will take on Skidmore College in the opening round of the Liberty League playoffs on Wednesday evening.

The Golden Knights enter Wednesday's game with a record of 15-10 overall after posting a 10-6 conference mark that earned them the fourth seed in the league standings. Skidmore swept both games from the Knights and has a record of 17-8 overall and a 13-3 league record that claimed the top spot in the conference seedings.

Skidmore won both contests against Clarkson with two key advantages. The Thoroughbreds outrebounded Clarkson by an average of 49-28 in the two games and held an even more impressive margin on free throws, receiving 51 shots to Clarkson's 12. The Knights went just 7-for-12 from the line in the two games, or two fewer attempts than Skidmore's Kelly Donnelly made from the charity stripe. What helped the Knights stay in both games was their defense, as Clarkson forced Skidmore to commit 52 turnovers. If Clarkson can combine that same aggressiveness while reducing its foul discrepancy (45 fouls to Skidmore's 25 fouls) than Wednesday could certainly see a different result than the previous two games.

Skidmore has done a good job defensively on Clarkson's top scorer, Devin Sorell. The junior guard shot just 23.7% (9-for-38) against the Thoroughbreds and only went to the free throw line twice in the two games. In her 14 other games against conference foes, Sorell took 96 free throws, an average of close to seven per game. She also scored 19.7 points per game against Liberty League teams not named Skidmore, averaging 11.5 points per contest versus the Thoroughbreds. Classmate Madison Shea also averaged 11.5 points per game against the Thoroughbreds, while contributing heavily to Skidmore's turnover deficit with 11 steals.

The Thoroughbreds have utilized the best offensive threat in the conference well this season, as Kelly Donnelly is enjoying another outstanding season. The junior forward led the Liberty League in scoring (20.6 ppg), rebounding (10.9 rpg) and steals (2.7 spg) while shooting 46.2% from the floor. Against Clarkson, Donnelly has averaged 24.0 points and 16.5 rebounds per game, shooting 50 percent from the field (16-for-32) and 82.4% from the free throw line, well above her 66.4% success rate against other teams this year. Veronica Moceri has also produced solid numbers against Clarkson this year, averaging 10.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in the two contests.

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Players Mentioned

#10 Madison Shea: G; 5' 6"; Junior

#24 Devin Sorell: G; 5' 3"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#10 Madison Shea
: 5' 6"; Junior
: G

#24 Devin Sorell
: 5' 3"; Junior
: G

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

#10 Madison Shea

#24 Devin Sorell

Players Mentioned

#10 Madison Shea

#24 Devin Sorell