Riverdale, NY – The College of Mount Saint Vincent's women's basketball team has returned to the Skyline Conference playoffs for the first time since the 2017-18 season. As the number five seed, they're matched up with St. Joseph's College-Brooklyn (#4), with the showdown taking place at the Hill Center, the Bears' home facility, at 7 PM tonight.

The game will prove to be an interesting one. The Dolphins and Bears played in a competitive contest just one week ago in Riverdale. St. Joe's was able to edge out CMSV in the final minutes, winning by the score of 62-59.

This season was expected to be a rebuilding one, both because of Phil Stern entering his first year as coach and with the Dolphins being selected eighth in the conference's preseason polls. But Stern, who last coached at Division I UMBC, was an instant hit both on the Peter Jay Sharp Center court and off it and helped bring the program back to its winning ways in just four months. The team's 14 regular season wins and 12 conference wins were both the most for the Dolphins since the 2016-17 season.

The team's roster saw a large transformation, with 11 women suiting up in white and gold for the first time this season. But to the credit of both Stern and his players, they were able to create instant chemistry throughout the year that translated throughout the course of the 24-game slate.

Aria Rheams, Gabriela Goldman, Leah Pinili and Dez Brown were the four returners, with each playing important roles in a multitude of different ways.

Rheams will be in the running for All-Conference honors, as her third season with the Dolphins has been a terrific one. The Alexandria, Virginia native has averaged as close to a double double as possible in 24 games (23 starts) with 12.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. Goldman has been the definition of a three-and-D player in 21 starts this year, as she leads the team in three-point field goal percentage while being in the top five in steals.

Pinili has been a constant in the Dolphins' starting lineup at point guard and ranks second in assists per game. Brown was averaging eight points and seven rebounds per game as the team's starting center before a torn-ACL ended her season prematurely.

Retaining the aforementioned four players was huge for Stern. But bringing in a bevy of transfers and freshmen was equally as crucial.

DarNeisha Brice came to CMSV from the College of New Rochelle for her senior season and has become one of the top scorers in the conference. The Player of the Year contender has averaged almost 17 points per game, good for third in the Skyline. Whether it's being in the starting lineup or coming off the bench, Brice has been arguably the team's go-to player when needing a basket.

Like Brice, Ashley Martin came to The Mount from CNR and has been a boost of the bench. So has freshman Catherine Amodio, who has played in 19 games and made her first collegiate start against Old Westbury on February 15.

Stern received even more help at the midseason point, as sophomore Victoria Hanley and freshman Kira Villegas came to CMSV, with both entering the starting lineup and immediately becoming key contributors.

Hanley does a little bit of everything for the Dolphins, as she's averaged nine points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals in 31 minutes per game. Villegas has been a boon on the defensive side of the floor while sporting a 36% field goal percentage in 15 games.

Despite the February 18 loss to the Bears, the Dolphins have confidence going into tonight's playoff game. The winner will go on to face #1 Mount Saint Mary College on Thursday.