Boxscore and Play-by-Play
NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – Despite a 28-point performance from Kathleen Payne, the Plattsburgh State women’s basketball team suffered its fourth straight loss at New Paltz, 75-61 in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action on Tuesday evening at the Hawk Center.
The Cardinals’ Kathleen Payne led all scorers with 28 points on 9-of-17 shooting, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, while also bringing down 11 rebounds. Catherine Cassidy led Plattsburgh (1-4, 0-3 SUNYAC) with three assists, while Payne and Kerri Salisbury each nabbed two steals from the Hawks.
Bradley led New Paltz (3-5, 2-1 SUNYAC) with 19 points and 19 rebounds. She was heard from early and often, amassing 10 points and 10 boards in the first half. Eleven of Bradley’s 19 rebounds came off the offensive glass. The scoring attack was supplemented by 17 points from junior forward Alex McCullough, as well as junior guard Maliqua Fisher’s 12 points.
The lead was traded back and forth for the entirety of the first half, with 11 lead changes occurring. Plattsburgh took the first advantage on the night with 18:27 remaining in the first half, going up 2-0 off of two Salisbury free throws. New Paltz responded 11 seconds later, tying the game on a McCullough layup. The Hawks built a lead of as much as five points in the first period, but the margin was reduced to just one with 58 seconds remaining in the half with a Payne jumper in the paint. The Hawks returned to the locker room with a slim advantage, 33-32.
Coming out of the break, a Jalen Hart foul shot tied the score, but a lane violation wiped out an additional attempt by Hart. McCullough hit the back end of a two foul-shot opportunity with 18:58 left to give New Paltz a 34-33 lead, which it would hold for the rest of the game.
The margin climbed to as much as a 12-point lead when a pair of free throws from senior point guard Kaitlin Clifford made the score 49-37 in favor of the Hawks with 13:58 remaining. Three consecutive three-pointers, one by Cassidy and then two by Payne, got the Cardinals right back into the game, as they were down only three with 11:48 to go. A scoring rally by McCullough and Fisher put the game out of reach, giving the Hawks a 55-47 lead with 9:46 left in the second half. The Cardinals could not lower the margin below seven points for the remainder of the game.
New Paltz benefited from scoring 20 points on second-chance opportunities. Plattsburgh scored only three second-chance points. The Hawks also held the advantage in points in the paint, 21-11, as well as points off turnovers, 28-16.
Plattsburgh returns to conference action this weekend. Friday the Cards host Geneseo at 6 p.m. and Saturday Brockport comes to Memorial Hall for a 2 p.m. start.
