Women's Basketball | 1/15/2020 10:45:00 AM

After splitting its first conference weekend of the 2020 portion of the schedule, the Clarkson University Women's Basketball team will be at home for Skidmore and Ithaca, opening a lengthy home stand at Alumni Gymnasium.

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The Series vs. Skidmore: Clarkson trails in the all-time matchup against the Thoroughbreds 23-35 with losses in four straight and six of the past seven. The last Clarkson win came in the conference tournament when the Knights ousted Skidmore in the Liberty League Semifinals.

The Series vs. Ithaca: Since joining the Liberty League two years ago, Ithaca has won all four of the contests against Clarkson to extend its advantage in the all-time series to 16-7. The Knights were within single digits in the first game but have dropped the last three by double figures.

Key Stats for Clarkson (5-6, 1-4 Liberty League): What once was a deep bench has grown shorter due to injuries, putting more pressure on the Clarkson starting lineup. Several of the players have stepped up as junior Hannah Earl is averaging 11.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per game with a pair of double-doubles and classmate Emma Buonanno has three double-doubles, including one this past weekend against Bard. Buonanno also leads the conference in steals per game (3.0), making at least three steals in eight of the team's 11 contests this year. Freshman Mariah Benavides ranks third on the team in scoring with 9.0 ppg.

Key Stats for Skidmore (2-10, 0-5 Liberty League): The Thoroughbreds are winless in league contests, but have been close in a few games, belying their overall mark. Kate McCarney leads the team at 12.3 points per game, though that number drops to single figures when considering only conference games (9.6 ppg). Jessica Centore averages a solid 11.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. Toyin Koleoso leads the team with 7.1 rebounds per game, though that number has shrunk in conference contests. Skidmore is last in the league in scoring average (53.8 ppg) and is second to last in scoring defense (64.3 ppg).

Key Stats for Ithaca (8-3, 5-0 Liberty League): The Bombers have taken the fewest 3-pointers in the league (142) by a fairly large margin, but they hardly need to take long-range shots since the team shoots 43.9% from inside the arc. Cassidy O'Malley ranks in the top five in the conference in scoring (15.4 ppg) and rebounding (9.2 rpg) while both Grace Cannon (11.9 ppg) and KellyAnne O'Reilly (11.5 ppg) also average double figures. O'Reilly is the only player on the team to have made more than 10 3-point field goals this season. Ithaca relies on its starters, as each of the five averages better than 28 minutes per game.