SUNY New Paltz hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament on March 1-2. The Hawks took on Penn State-Harrisburg in the first round and came out victorious with a score of 70-52. They fell in the second round against Baldwin Wallace University 65-42, the following night.
In the first round, the Hawks started out strong and kept their momentum throughout. Senior guard/forward Brianna Fitzgerald got the first two points on the scoreboard with a layup less than 30 seconds into the game followed by a three-pointer from senior guard Jenny Walton. The Lions got on the board soon after with a sinking a three and two free throws after a foul called on Fitzgerald, bringing the score to a 5-5 tie in the first of two minutes. After that, the Hawks maintained the lead for the remainder of the game.
Both teams got into foul trouble early on, calling for the Hawks to play their entire bench during the game. “I don’t have a whole lot of reservations using anybody in any given situation,” said coach Jamie Seward. “It was a bit more difficult to mix and match the right combinations, especially when we got foul trouble, to get enough perimeter defenders out there.”
At the start of the second quarter, the Hawks were up 17-13. Things got physical fast with an immediate scuffle of three girls on the ground fighting for possession. The Hawks ultimately scored the first two points of the quarter with a layup by senior forward Abby Korzekwinski.
Korzekwinski had one of the best games of her career doing it all, offense and defense, five assists, a season-high for her, seven rebounds and 17 points in 33 minutes of play..
Another stand-out player of the night was senior guard/forward Madison Mullman. She came into the first quarter with a quick three-pointer and continued to sink them throughout the game. Playing the best game of her career in 26 minutes, Mullman scored the game-high and her personal high; 23 points, one assist, two rebounds and seven three-pointers.
“It was great to hear the crowd cheer my name,” said Mullman. “It was just a fun game overall. It helps making shots but I think we stuck together as a team the whole time, made it a fun game and we just kept pushing through everything that happened.”
“The whole crowd was just electric,” said Korzekwinski. “Their chants are great, it just brings the vibes to the gym and gets us going.”
The crowd had a fun time of their own with the packed section of SUNY New Paltz students chanting for their team. The eruptions of “defense” in support, “you can’t do that” aimed at the Lions for each foul and the seconds where the whole gym held their breath when a ball circled the rim.
Going into the second half of the game with a seven-point lead of 34-27, the Hawks swiftly upped it to a 10-point lead 33 seconds in first with a free throw by Korzekwinski, the crowd gave her a little extra energy with some “magic fingers,” followed by a layup also by Korzekwinski. The Hawks and Lions traded points back and forth with the Hawks never letting up on a minimum of a five-point lead. They ended the quarter with a 13-point lead 57-44.
During the final period, the lead for the Hawks continued to increase with a three-pointer from Mullman, creating some added distance of 60-44. The energy in the Hawk Center was high with everyone on the edge of their seats, the crowd only getting rowdier now chanting “airball” and jeering at the opposing team during free throws.
All the Hawks needed was to run down the clock and keep up their defense as they brought themselves up to a 21-point lead with 2:20 left on the clock. The final point for the Hawks made by Korzekwinski brought the score to 70-49. The Lions played strong till the end sinking another three with 47 seconds left, but it was nowhere near enough to bring down the Hawks.
The Hawks walked away with a first-round win with a final score of 70-52 advancing them into the next day’s game.
The Hawks faced off against the visiting, third-seeded Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets. Similar to the Hawks, Baldwin Wallace won their matchup the day before, pulling off an upset against Trinity College, a higher seed than the Yellow Jackets.
Regular starters senior guard/forward Brianna Fitzgerald, senior guard Julia Sabatino, senior guard Jenny Walton, junior guard Morgan Hammell and senior forward Abby Korzekwinski took the floor for the tip. Korzekwinki scored the first points of the game from around the rim, but made baskets were hard to come by for the remainder of the quarter. A timeout just over five minutes into the quarter was called, and the score read 2-1. Korzekwinski broke the scoring drought with a free throw, but Baldwin Wallace responded immediately with two baskets, sinking a three, to put them up 6-3. When the buzzer sounded, the score was a mere 6-6. Both the Hawks and the Yellow Jackets were tough defensively; SUNY New Paltz recorded 7 steals in the first quarter alone.
Starting the second, Walton immediately sank a three to put the Hawks ahead, but Baldwin Wallace began to heat up, scoring 10 straight unanswered points, elevating their lead to 17-9. The Hawks struggled to produce offensive opportunities and the Yellow Jackets began to pull away. At the half, Baldwin Wallace was ahead 29-13.
Coming out of the locker room, SUNY New Paltz began to fight back, cutting down on the Yellow Jackets’ lead to only 12 points; then 15 points by the end of the third. Unfortunately, the third-quarter rally was not enough, as Baldwin Wallace’s offense could not be stopped. In the fourth alone, the Yellow Jackets shot 50% from the field and 33.33% from the three-point arc, compared to the Hawks’ 23.53% and 20%, respectively. Baldwin Wallace’s lead inflated further, and when the final buzzer sounded, the Yellow Jackets would move on with a score of 65-42.
Walton and Fitzgerald combined for 28 points and nine steals. Korzekwinski added seven points and 11 rebounds and Sabatino recorded four points with four assists. Senior guard/forward Madison Mullman tagged on three points and three rebounds.
The loss marks the end of the Hawks 2023-2024 campaign, a historic one to say the least. The Hawks had an overall record of 25-4, won the SUNYAC Championship and hosted two rounds of the NCAA tournament for the third time in program history. The season boasted many individual accolades as well, including Fitzgerald, Walton and Korzekwinski receiving All-SUNYAC honors — Fitzgerald was also named SUNYAC Player of the Year for the second year in a row. Head coach Jamie Seward and assistant coaches Darren Jackson and Maddie Van Pelt received SUNYAC Coaching Staff of the Year.
The end of the road may be here for this Hawks team, but the future looks bright for this historic program.