Immaculata Women's Basketball vs Marywood
Atlantic East Conference Tournament Semifinals
Wednesday, February 26th| 7:00 PM
Alumnae Hall | Immaculata, Pa.
 
GAME LINKS: WATCH | LIVE STATS
 
THE STORYLINE

• The Immaculata women's basketball team (20-3, 10-0 AEC) completed their best regular season in the NCAA era of Immaculata women's basketball winning the AEC Regular Season Championship and earning the first seed in the AEC Tournament.
• Immaculata will be hosting their semifinal for the second consecutive season as they host Marywood at Alumnae Hall on Wednesday evening.
• Marywood (13-13, 3-7 AEC) advanced to Wednesday's semifinal after defeating Centenary on the road Monday in their AEC Tournament first-round game 77-73.

 
THE SERIES

• Immaculata and Marywood are meeting for the 31^st time in their series that began in 1984.
• Immaculata is 17-13 all-time vs Marywood.
• This will be the third time the two programs have meet in post season play.
• On February 23, 2011, Immaculata defeated Marywood 78-64 at Marywood in the CSAC Semifinals to advance to the CSAC Championship. Leah Kuczynski registered a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Current Immaculata Assistant Coach Chelsea Turgeon (McTigue) scored and former Immaculata Head Coach Chrissy Rhine (Esbensen) lead all scorers with 17 points each.
• On February 24, 2020, Immaculata fell to Marywood 79-77 in double overtime in the AEC Tournament First Round at Alumnae Hall. Current Immaculata Assistant Coach Theresa Kearney scored 22 points, and Annie Kahoka and Brielle Rigo each scored 12 points for the Mighty Macs.

 
REGULAR SEASON MEETINGS

• Immaculata defeated Marywood in both regular season meetings in 2024-25.
• Immaculata won at Marywood on January 22, 2025, 79-55. Carly Coleman had a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Mighty Macs. Tessa Liberatoscioli had six defensive rebounds and two steals.
• Immaculata defeated Marywood 79-47 in their regular season finale on February 18, 2025, at Alumnae Hall. Riley Cassidy led all scorers with 21 points. Carly Coleman had another double-double scoring 17 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.

 
MIGHTY MAC NOTES

• Reese Mullins led Immaculata in scoring this season averaging 15.7 points per game and finished third in the Atlantic East in scoring. She scored in double figures in 19 games and had six double-doubles. Mullins was named AEC Player of the Week three times this season.
• Abigail Boyer broke out in her senior season, averaging 10.4 points per game and earning a pair of AEC Player of Week honors. Boyer hit 41 three-pointers and led the AEC averaging 1.8 three-pointers per game. She had career highs in rebounds with 79, assists with 64, and steals with 42.
• Tessa Liberatoscioli averaged 10.3 points per game, with 116 rebounds, 52 assists, and led the AEC in steals for a second straight season with 81. Tessa was named AEC Defensive Player of the Week three times this season.
• Carly Coleman had an outstanding rookie season for Immaculata averaging 10.2 points per game, with a team high 190 rebounds, 22 blocked shots, and 46 steals. Coleman registered seven double doubles. She was second in the AEC in rebounds per game averaging 8.7. Coleman was named AEC Defensive Player of the Week, AEC Offensive Player of the Week, and was named to the Weekly Honor Roll five times this season.
• Olivia Ettorre started in 22 out of 23 games for Immaculata averaging 7.1 points per game, and 2.6 rebounds per game. Ettorre had 31 assists and was third on the team in blocked shots with 17.
• Riley Cassidy played a key role in her first season with Immaculata averaging 7.7 points per game off the bench. Cassidy finished second on the team in three-pointers with 23.
• Alyssa Long was a strong contributor to the Mighty Macs success in 2024-25. The former NCAA Division I lacrosse All-American brought a diligent competitive edge to the Mighty Macs, with her leadership, work ethic, and tenacious defense. Coming off the bench Long had 71 rebounds, 62 assists, and 33 steals for the Mighty Macs.
• Immaculata as a team averaged 73.2 points per game, and their opponents averaged 57.3 points per game.

 
SCOUTING MARYWOOD

• Marywood advanced to Wednesday's Semifinal after defeating Centenary 77-73 at Centenary on Monday in the AEC Tournament First Round game. Rachel McDonald scored 27 points, Megan Cavoli scored 16 points, and Finley Bittenbender scored 12 points for the Pacers.
• The Pacers trailed by Centenary by nine points 62-53 with 7:49 remaining in the fourth quarter, before outscoring the Cyclones 24-9 down the stretch to earn the victory.
• Olivia Ciullo led Marywood in scoring averaging 13.2 points per game, and 8.2 rebounds per game.
• Rachel McDonald averaged 9.3 points per game, and 2.3 rebounds per game. McDonald's 27 points vs Centenary on Monday was her career high.
• Megan Cavoli averaged 8.8 points per game, and 3.6 rebounds per game. Cavoli scored 16 points vs Centenary on Monday.
• As a team Marywood has shot 37.3% from the field, 28.9% from behind the arc, and shot 66.9% from the stripe.
• Marywood is 3-5 on the road this season.

 
HEAD COACH BRITTANY WHALEN ON ATLANTIC EAST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT

"Heading into the tournament, we recognize it's a clean slate for everyone," stated Head Coach Brittany Whalen. "The mindset is to fight hard, take it play by play, and be intentional with every action. We are thrilled to host in Alumnae Hall as it is such a fun atmosphere for playoff basketball. We plan to soak it all in and enjoy every moment together!"
 
Immaculata will face the tough task of trying to beat teams for a third time this season in the AEC Tournament. When asked what her team needs to do to be successful on Wednesday evening Whalen said "Marywood is a great shooting team. It will be crucial for us to defend the perimeter and get big stops on defense, along with maintaining our up-tempo style of play offensively. It is vital that we continue to do the little things throughout the game and stick together as a unit from tip-off until the final buzzer sounds."
 
"The remaining teams are all very competitive and it's going to be a battle through the end of each game," concluded Whalen. "Our team has put in an incredible amount of work to get to this point in the season and we are hopeful that all the preparation and grit can help us capture some big wins.
 
UP NEXT

• The winner of Wednesday's Semifinal will advance to play in the Atlantic East Conference Championship Game on Saturday, March 1^st. The number #2 Marymount is hosting #3 Neumann in the other semifinal on Wednesday evening in Arlington, Va. at 8:00 p.m.
• The highest remaining seed will host Saturday's AEC Championship Game.