The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Basketball team is making its return to NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019, taking the #7 seed into Friday's opener against #2 Southern New Hampshire University at 2:30 p.m. at Laska Gymnasium on the campus of Assumption University in Worcester, Mass.

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How They Got Here - The Spartans completed an outstanding regular season with a 20-7 record, including a 12-4 East Coast Conference mark, good enough to clinch a first round bye and the #2 seed in the conference tournament. In the semifinals, STAC pushed past Queens, 55-48, to advance to the championship game. Sarah Ericson (16pts & 10rebs) and Erin Leary (11pts & 11rebs) recorded double-doubles in the contest, while Trinity Cheatom posted 11 points. STAC advanced to the championship game for the first time since 2018, falling to the ECC's other NCAA Tourney entrant, Daemen University, 66-51. In the matchup between the Spartans and Wildcats, Sarah Ericson posted another gritty 16-point effort, while Alexa Huertas put up 11 points.

The Match-Up, Second Meeting This Season - This will be the second time STAC plays Southern New Hampshire during the 2022-2023 season. The Penmen hold a 1-0 advantage to date. On December 29, 2022 STAC and SNHU squared off at Aquinas Hall, following the mandated NCAA Division II Holiday break, with the visitors holding off a late charge by the maroon and gold to win 71-65. St. Thomas Aquinas College received 19-point efforts from both Sarah Ericson and Erin Leary. Meanwhile, So. New Hampshire received double-digit point totals from Adriana Timberlake (24), Mia Roy (14) and Jess Knight (11). Knight also grabbed 11 boards in the contest and teammate Ariana Koivisto picked up 10 rebounds.

Spartans in the Post-Season – The Spartans advanced to the ECC Final in 2023 under Coach Cleary, after appearing in the Semifinals last season. This is the first NCAA Tournament bid for STAC since 2019 and the fourth in the program's history (2003, 2018, 2019, 2023). St. Thomas Aquinas College is 1-3 in four previous NCAA East Region postseason contests. Today's game is STAC's fourth NCAA Tournament meeting against a Northeast-10 foe – with the Spartans posting an 0-3 record in those matchups.

All-Conference Selections – St. Thomas Aquinas placed three players in this year's ECC post-season awards:

Sarah Ericson – ECC Player of the Year/First Team All-Conference – Ericson, who was a Second Team pick in 2022, is one of three Spartans to play all 29 games this season. She is averaging 12.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.9 steals per contest, while shooting 41.4 percent (132-321) from the field, 37.3 percent (53-142) from three and 82.5 percent (52-63) at the line. The Norwich, Connecticut native, was a two-time ECC Player of the Week and also ECC Defensive Player of the Week on one occasion during the regular season. Ericson ranks fifth in the league in scoring (369 points), fourth in three-point percentage (37.3), first in rebounds (283), fourth in assists (99) and fourth in steals (56).

Erin Leary – ECC First Team All-Conference – Leary, who collects her first ECC All-Conference award of her collegiate career, has started in all 29 contests she has played in. She is posting 13.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, while knocking down 44.2 percent (146-330) of her shots from the floor, 33.9 percent from downtown (41-121) and 76.9 percent (70-91) from the stripe. The Carle Place, New York resident was a two-time ECC Player of the week and also ECC Defensive Player of the Week on three occasions. Leary ranks third in the conference in scoring (403 points), fifth in rebounds (218) and fourth in blocked shots (33).  

Alexa Huertas – ECC Third Team All-Conference – Huertas returned to action midway through the 2022-23 season, after battling through an injury, and placed third on the team in points per game with 8.4 in 19 contests. The Haverstraw, New York native earned the regular season's final ECC Player of the Week accolades.

All-Region Accolades - Sarah Ericson earned a Division II Conference Commissioner's Association First Team All-East selection, as announced by D2CCA on Thursday.

A Winning Recipe - St. Thomas Aquinas' style of play, solid coaching and roster make-up give the Spartans a winning formula year-to-year, from the season opener to the NCAA Tournament. That is no different in 2022-23, as STAC's record each month shows a level of excellence within the East Region. November 5-2, December 4-2, January 7-1, February 4-2, March 1-1 (All Postseason).

Everyone Plays a Role – Though Bill Cleary often uses many combinations in his lineup, he had a stable core of starters this season, with Erin Leary starting all 29 games, Sarah Ericson starting all but one, and Trinity Cheatom starting 24. 

Cheatom, Holguin, Leary, Huertas, Ericson (9)

Jaruseviciute, Holguin, Leary, Raposo, Ericson (5)

Jaruseviciute, Cheatom, Leary, Raposo, Ericson (4)

Jaruseviciute, Holguin, Leary, Cheatom, Ericson (3)

Jaruseviciute, Cheatom, Leary, Huertas, Ericson (3)

Cheatom, Holguin, Leary, Huertas, Ericson (3)

Jaruseviciute, Holguin, Leary, Raposo, Cheatom (1)

Cheatom, Alifano, Leary, Huertas, Ericson (1)

Shutting Things Down – While Spartans have developed a well-earned reputation for bringing a strong, suffocating defensive style, this year's team has held its opponents to 60 points or less in 19 of 29 games played.

2023 NCAA EAST REGIONAL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Friday, March 10 - Quarterfinals
Game 1: #6 Daemen vs. #3 Jefferson - 12 p.m. (LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS)
Game 2: #7 St. Thomas Aquinas vs. #2 Southern New Hampshire - 2:30 p.m. (LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS)
Game 3: #8 Dominican vs. #1 Assumption - 5 p.m. (LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS)
Game 4: #5 Bentley vs. #4 Le Moyne - 7:30 p.m. (LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS)

Saturday, March 11 - Semifinals
Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 - 5 p.m. (LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS)
Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 - 7:30 p.m. (LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS)

Tuesday, March 15 - Championship
Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 - 7 p.m. (LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS)

2023 NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S BASKETBALL EAST REGION
No. 1 seed – Assumption University (24-5, 16-4 NE10)... NE10 Co-Regular Season Champions (at-large bid)
No. 2 seed – Southern New Hampshire University (21-7, 15-5 NE10)… NE10 Tournament Runners-up (at-large bid)
No. 3 seed – Jefferson University 26-4, 16-1 CACC)... CACC South Division Regular Season Champions (at-large bid)
No. 4 seed – Le Moyne College (21-6, 16-4 NE10)… NE10 Co-Regular Season Champions (at-large bid)
No. 5 seed – Bentley University (21-9, 14-6 NE10)… NE10 Tournament Champions (automatic bid)
No. 6 seed – Daemen University  (20-4, 13-3 ECC)… ECC Regular Season & Tournament Champions (automatic bid)
No. 7 seed – St. Thomas Aquinas College (21-8, 12-4 ECC)… ECC Tournament Runners-up (at-large bid)
No. 8 seed – Dominican University (21-10, 13-5 CACC)… CACC Tournament Champions (automatic bid)

TICKETS

$10 Adults, $5 Students/Children/Seniors.  

Tickets can be purchased at the door.

Per NCAA policy, no complimentary admissions will be issued.