IMMACULATA, Pa. – After just missing the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Tournament last season, the Immaculata women's basketball team returns to the conference postseason in 2017 for the third time in four seasons. The Mighty Macs have earned the No. 6 seed in the 2017 CSAC Tournament and will travel to the No. 3-seed Gwynedd Mercy University Griffins (15-10, 13-3 CSAC) in a quarterfinal round game on Monday night, Feb. 20, at 6 p.m. 
 
The last time Immaculata earned the sixth seed in the conference tournament was in the 2010 CSAC Tournament, and the Mighty Macs traveled to third-seeded Marywood knocking off the host Pacers to advance to the semifinals.
 
Immaculata last met Gwynedd Mercy in postseason play during the 2015 CSAC Tournament when the Mighty Macs were the second seed and defeated the Griffins, 74-46, in a semifinal contest. Monday's meeting is just the third times the squads have met in the postseason. The first meeting was during the 2003-04 season when eighth-seeded Immaculata fell in the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC) quarterfinals to top-seeded Gwynedd Mercy.
 
Immaculata (8-17, 8-8 CSAC) dropped its only meeting this season against Gwynedd Mercy, 77-35, on the road on February 4. Immaculata was paced in that contest by junior Theresa Walsh's nine points, and she came down with seven rebounds. Sophomore Amber Ballinger led the Mighty Macs on the glass with 10 rebounds to go along with seven points and four steals. Senior Tamyra Laws added four points and nine rebounds.
 
Senior forward Laws leads the team in scoring with 18.4 points per game and rebounding with 13.8 boards per outing. Laws also leads the squad in blocked shots (40) and field goal percentage (.406), while adding 30 steals and 24 assists. Sophomore guard Ballinger is second on the squad in scoring (9.7), while averaging 5.4 rebounds per game, and she tops the team in steals with 44. Junior forward Walsh is third in points per game (9.3) and second in rebounds per contest (6.3). She also has 21 blocked shots and 35 steals. Freshman guard Annie Kohutka is fourth on the boards with 3.8 rebounds per outing, while chipping in 6.1 points per game. Kohutka is one of the best free-throw shooters on the squad at 78.2 percent (43-55) this season. The final starter for Immaculata is junior guard Gina Cocci, who is dishing out a team-best 3.0 assists per game.
 
Immaculata has been led this season by its strong free throw shooting. The Mighty Macs have knocked down 311 of 445 (.699) at the foul line, leading all CSAC schools. Immaculata also has strong rebounding abilities as it averages 43.7 rebounds per game, and the Mighty Macs are third in the CSAC in blocked shots per game (3.16).
 
Gwynedd Mercy is the third-highest scoring team in the league this season with 66.2 points per game, while the Griffins are the second-best defensively surrendering just 54.3 points per game to their opponents. Charlotte Kucowski leads the Griffins in both scoring (16.4) and rebounding (9.2). Kucowski is an equal threat from the field, at three-point range, and at the foul line. She is shooting 44.7 percent (160-358) from the field, 54-for-143 (.378) from three, and 36-for-43 (.837) at the charity stripe, leading the team in all three categories.
 
In the conference's other quarterfinal game on Monday evening, fourth-seeded Centenary will host fifth-seeded Cabrini at 7 p.m.
 
The winners of Monday's contests will travel to either top-seeded Marywood or second-place finisher Neumann for the CSAC semifinals on Wednesday, February 22. The Colonial States Athletic Conference Championship Game will be held on Saturday, February 25, at the highest remaining seed. The winner of the CSAC championship game receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
 
A complete tournament schedule is listed below.
 
2017 Colonial States Athletic Conference Tournament Schedule
 
Monday, Feb. 20 (Quarterfinals)
(6) Immaculata at (3) Gwynedd Mercy, 6 p.m.
(5) Cabrini at (4) Centenary, 7 p.m.
 
Wednesday, Feb. 22 (Semifinals)
Lowest remaining seed at (1) Marywood, 7 p.m.
Next lowest remaining seed at (2) Neumann, 6 p.m.
 
Saturday, Feb. 25 (Championship)
Semifinal winners at highest remaining seed, 2 p.m.