The SUNY Niagara men’s and women’s basketball teams are headed for nationals.
The women’s team is headed to its fifth NJCAA Division II tournament since 2019 under head coach Nate Beutel after posting a 27-3 record, while winning the East A district championship with a 64-60 win over SUNY Sullivan Sunday. The Thunderwolves, who won their seventh consecutive Region III championship this season, earned the 16th seed in the 20-team field.
SUNY Niagara opens the tournament against No. 17 Rock Valley College (Illinois) at noon March 17 in Joplin, Missouri. The winner faces top-seeded Kirkwood (Iowa) Community College, the reigning national champions, which have won eight titles since 1992, including two of the last three in the false double-elimination tournament.
The Thunderwolves feature nine players averaging at least 15 minutes per game and four players scoring in double figures. Sophomore Krystal Smith leads the team with 14.3 points, nine rebounds and 3.2 steals per game.
Freshman guard Isabella Karabetsos is averaging 10.4 points, 5.9 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 3.4 steals per game, while Niagara Falls native Atarah Walker is averaging 7.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Makayla Thomas and Mackenzie Owens are both posting 11.4 points per game.
The SUNY Niagara men’s team is headed to the national tournament for the fifth time since 2017 (and third in four years) under coach Bill Beilein. The Thunderwolves earned an at-large berth after a one-point loss to SUNY Orange in the district final Sunday.
In the opening round, the 16th-seeded Thunderwolves will face No. 17 Oakland (Michigan) Community College at noon Monday in Danville, Illinois. The winner faces top-seeded Pima (Arizona) Community College at noon March 18.
The 25-6 Thunderwolves won their fifth Region III championship since 2017, the fifth time they have won 25 games since Beilein became head coach in 2009-10. Averaging 89.6 points per game this season, SUNY Niagara has four players scoring in double-digits.
Freshman guard Chioke Marshall leads the team with 18.5 points per game on 50.6% shooting despite only having five starts. Lewiston-Porter graduate Jalen Duff does a bit of everything with 14.7 points, five rebounds and 3.3 assists per game during his sophomore campaign.
Guard Jamyier Patton 17.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.5 steals, while Camron Dyer is averaging 10.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Another Lew-Port graduate, Bobby Beilein, is averaging 6.4 points per game.