New Paltz Women’s Basketball Team finally handed visiting-team Cortland its first SUNYAC loss of the regular season, avenging an early-season defeat with a sweet takeover of 51-42.
The Red Dragons are a notoriously difficult team to beat. The past record against Cortland puts us at only 17 wins compared to 42 loses. The last game the Lady Hawks played against Cortland ended in a loss, too. In fact, the boys lost their game against Cortland the same weekend. The Lady Hawks victory was a true triumph.
Cortland walked into this match with a 17 game winning streak, and walked out with the lowest score they have had all season. The Red Dragons usually score 70 points a game, but this Saturday they barely managed to crack 40.
The game did not look like it would end like it did. In the first quarter, the Hawks were tasting what seemed to be defeat. They were a full 11 points behind the Red Dragons. In the second quarter, third-year guard/forward Maddie Gillis picked up the pace.
Gillis only needed two minutes of the period to take it back. She hit a 3-pointer immediately with a pass from third-year guard Lexi Van Vorst. The Hawks kept it up from there and were ahead 28-18 by halftime.
Third-year guard/forward Victoria Venus started the Lady Hawks’ domination off again by scoring the first point of the third quarter. Gillis followed this with a layup, and then Van Vorst scored the third basket in the quarter with a jumper. The Lady Hawks brought it up to 34-20 after this string of scoring. By the end of the quarter, the Lady Hawks had a whopping 47-31 lead.
With 10 minutes left in the game, the Red Dragons got desperate. They saw the score flying as high as the Lady Hawks and started to pick up the pace. They scored five baskets in a row, bringing the score from 33 to 38. Second-year guard/forward Brianna Fitzgerald broke their scoring streak with a layup and Gillis followed this with two free-throws.
From here, it was over. The Red Dragons managed to score again, bringing the final score to 42-51. This almost ten point gap is rare for a Cortland game. This was also New Paltz’s third SUNYAC win in a row.
The Lady Hawks have another game this Friday, Feb. 18 in the Hawk Center. They will be playing Plattsburgh at 5:30 p.m. This will hopefully be their fourth victory, as they have a records of 39 wins and only 17 loses against Plattsburgh. Come out and support the women’s basketball team as they continue their great SUNYAC season this semester.
