PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. - Taylor Amarando posted game highs of 26 points for a career best and 11 rebounds to lead a balanced Plattsburgh State offense as the Cardinals crushed Albany College of Pharmacy, 92-59, on Friday at Memorial Hall. Plattsburgh (1-1 overall) advances to Saturday's championship game (2 p.m.) of its own Cardinal Classic against the winner of tonight's other semifinal between Castleton State and Baruch.
The Cardinals surpassed the 90-point mark for the first time since a 96-54 victory against Potsdam on Nov. 22, 2002, in the Cardinal Classic Semifinals.
Besides Amarando, Molly Harte with 15 points, Catherine Cassidy, 14; Lyndsey Moore, 12; and Lindsey Larivee, 10, also notched double figures. Cassidy also dished a career-high 11 assists for an efficient offense that recorded 26 assists on 36 field goals as a team.
The Panthers (1-3 overall) had four scorers in double digits--Alex Oaks, Katie McCormack and Kelly VanValkenburgh with 13 each, and Kimberly Ray, 10--but the team shot only 32.9 percent from the field (23-70) and had more turnovers (29) than field goals (23).
Plattsburgh used a full-court press to race to a 50-23 halftime lead, translating to easy baskets and a 62.5 field goal percentage (20-32). The team finished the game by making 50 percent of its shots from the floor (36-72).
Stephanie McCoy--the only Plattsburgh starter not to score in double digits with seven points--had three steals along with Caitlin O'Keefe to spark the Cardinals' suffocating defense that generated 13.
Plattsburgh had a slight rebounding edge, 41-38, but ACP controlled the offensive glass, 16 to 14. Harte had seven rebounds for Plattsburgh, and Cassidy and O'Keefe six each, to support Amarando on the boards. McCormack and VanValkenburgh pulled down eight apiece.
Later in the night, The Baruch women's basketball team topped the Castleton State Spartans 77-45 and earned a spot in the 2009 Cardinal Classic Championship game. The Bearcats will face off against the Plattsburgh State Cardinals at 2 p.m. tomorrow, while Castleton will take on Albany College of Pharmacy at noon for third-place.
Monique Salmon went 3-for-4 from the three-point line and posted 18 points on the night to help lead the Bearcats to victory. She also dished out a game-high six assists. Anika Sierk (11) and Megan Bouwens (10) also scored in the double-digits for Baruch. Bouwens tied Kalea Davis for a team-high eight rebounds, as well.
Christine Jacques tossed up an impressive 19 points for the Spartans during the contest. Tarryn Bolognani came off the bench to score 12 points, placing her second on the team in scoring on the evening. Megan Johnson pulled down 11 boards, while Katie Hoxsie led the team with two assists. Johnson, Bolognani and Vanessa Powers each recorded a block.
Baruch led the game 35-24 going into the half, but really opened the game up in the second when the Bearcats posted 42 points to Castleton's 21.
The second half included a run of 12 unanswered points made by Baruch. It started in the 12th minute with a made free-throw by Bouwens and concluding in the seventh when Jacques sank a layup for the Spartans after Anika Sierk had brought the Bearcats lead to 60-38 with a layup of her own.
Baruch now stands at 1-0 for the season, while Castleton falls to 1-1.
