Women’s Basketball Makes History

New York Institute of Technology women’s basketball team earned the East Coast Conference’s (ECC) automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and claimed the program’s first-ever postseason title with an 80-60 win against LIU Post on Sunday, March 10, at the University of Bridgeport’s Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium.

The Bears will face the University of the Sciences on March 15 in the opening-round of the East Regional.

NYIT (23-8) earned a regular-season ECC title in 2015-2016 but never won a league postseason championship.

The Bears entered the ECC tourney as the No. 3 seed, while LIU Post—an upset winner against top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas on March 9—was the No. 4 seed.

On Sunday, NYIT built a 31-17 second-quarter lead. But the Pioneers chiseled their deficit to four points during that quarter.

The Bears erupted after intermission, turning a 35-29 halftime advantage into a 20-point bulge entering the final quarter.

Meg Knollmeyer, a first-team All-ECC selection, led the Bears with her 12th double-double of the season, tallying 17 points and 10 rebounds. She was named tournament MVP. Teammates Shalie Frierson and Ketsia Athias joined her on the all-tournament team.

“I am so proud of these young ladies and their dedication to the team and each other,” said Head Coach Kenneth Parham. “Our chemistry has been awesome all year, which helped us through all of the adversity with the injuries. They played for each other every day. And, as a result, they are the first women’s basketball team in NYIT history to win a conference tournament. I’m very happy that all of their hard work has paid off.”