RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Felician University women's basketball team will play as the No. 7 seed in the 2021 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Championship tournament. The event begins tonight with three first-round games.
Felician is competing in the CACC playoffs for the sixth occasion in the 13-year tenure of head coach Steve Fagan. This evening, the Golden Falcons will travel to Orangeburg, N.Y., to take on No. 2 seed Dominican (N.Y.) College on Coach Baxter Court at the Hennessy Center on the Dominican campus. Tipoff time is 6 p.m.
More information about the 2021 CACC Women's Basketball Championship tournament is available at https://www.caccathletics.org/sports/wbkb/2020-21/releases/228Playoffs. Felician (0-10, 0-10) is making its 12th CACC tournament appearance overall and is seeking its first championship.
Due to conference policy stemming from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, spectators will not be allowed at the Hennessy Center tonight. Dominican will offer a live webstream at https://www.caccathletics.org/sports/wbkb/2020-21/releases/228Playoffs and a Live Stats feed at https://felicianathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2020-21/boxscores/20210302_hbas.xml.
Felician sophomore guard/forward Briana Lee (Jersey City, N.J./Irvington) ranks second in the CACC in both scoring (18.7 points per game) and rebounding (11.2 per game) and is first in steals per game (3.3). Lee missed four games due to injury but still recorded four double-doubles. The Golden Falcons receive 7.0 points per game from sophomore forward Tiara Mahorn (Irvington, N.J./Irvington), while sophomore center Rosie Arias (Linden, N.j./Linden) averages 6.3 points and 5.7 rebounds.
"It's been a strange season, but we have been grateful for the opportunity to be back on the court," said Mahorn, a Golden Falcon co-captain. "Everyone is excited to play today because we owe it to ourselves and every other team in the CACC to play with confidence and look for a win."
Dominican (9-1, 8-1) is 6-0 at home this season. It leads the CACC in scoring defense (53.7 ppg) and is second in scoring offense (72.5). The Chargers are paced by a pair of All-CACC performers in senior Khay'la Lattimer (Teaneck, N.J./ICHS-Lodi) (9.9 ppg, 3.1 apg, .500 3FG%), and junior Taylor Tomlinson (Middletown, N.Y./Middletown) (10.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg).
"It's always a great opportunity to play against a talented and respectful team such as Dominican," Mahorn said. "They are a very active team from the starters to the bench players. Everyone can execute and bring something to the table. We need to play a high-speed, competitive game because we know they will."
Dominican won the 2021 regular-season meeting between the schools, 81-51, on February 25 in Orangeburg. The Chargers lead the all-time series, 32-16. The Chargers and Golden Falcons have met three times previously in the CACC Tournament -- but not since 2004 -- and Dominican is 3-0
Tonight's winner will take on the winner of the Nyack College/Bloomfield College first-round winner on Thursday at the campus site of the highest remaining seed. The 2021 CACC Championship Game is slated for Saturday, March 6.
