Box Score OSWEGO, N.Y. – Although the Plattsburgh State women’s basketball team was the first team to score over 40 points against the Oswego State Lakers in the 2012-13 season, the Cardinals committed 24 turnovers and fell victim to a late Laker run in a 56-48 setback in their SUNYAC opener at Max Ziel Gymnasium on Friday (Nov. 30).
The Cardinals (2-2, 0-1 SUNYAC) dished out just seven assists, but possessed a better shooting percentage (37.3) than the hosts (36.2), making good on 19 of their 51 shots.
Payne proved to be a handful for the Oswego State defense from the opening tip, as the Goshen, N.Y., native recorded the first quartet of points in the tilt before Meagan Stover responded with four of her own to knot things up at the 15:45 mark of opening frame.
As things progressed, Payne seemed more and more comfortable slicing through the Lakers’ (4-0, 1-0 SUNYAC) defense as the junior poured in nine of the first 12 points scored by the Cardinals. Despite Payne leading the way, the game remained closely contested through the opening 20-minute half with six ties occurring in that span.
Although the Cardinals connected on 10 of their 20 shots in the first half, they had a difficult time trying to work the ball into the teeth of the Oswego State zone defense. Plattsburgh State committed 13 turnovers in the first half while dishing out just three assists, but the Plattsburgh State defense was more than up to the challenge of stopping the Lakers.
Normally a club that shoots 40 percent from the field, the Lakers didn’t enjoy that same type of offensive efficiency in the first frame. The home squad made good on just eight of its 24 shots attempts in the first half thanks to the high-energy defense employed by the Cardinals.
After Brooke Reifinger put the Cardinals up 17-15 after a layup at the 8:46 mark of the stanza, the Cardinals went cold from the field. An impenetrable lid was placed on the Plattsburgh State basket for more than four minutes, until Devona Paul swished a pair of free throws to break up the scoring drought.
While the free throws were a momentary offensive fix, the Cardinals were forced to wait nearly another three minutes before they finally tallied their next field goal. After driving into the interior, Payne kicked the ball out to a wide-open Misha Green who drained a long two-point jumper to bring the Cardinals within three points at 24-21 with 1:43 remaining in the half.
Green’s jumper was the spark the Plattsburgh State offense needed, kick-starting a 6-0 run by the Cardinals in the final 1:43 to help the visitors walk into the locker room with a 25-24 lead.
Marshall terminated what was almost a two-minute scoreless stretch to begin the deciding frame with a long ball to match the Cardinals’ largest of the game up to that point at four (28-24). This particular 20-minute stretch, however, was dominated largely by runs.
With another layup by Payne to maintain a four-point advantage, the Cardinals surrendered a 9-0 run to the Lakers who grabbed a 35-30 lead with 15:16 to go in the stanza. Plattsburgh State responded with an 11-0 spurt of their own shortly thereafter, beginning with a long-range make by Reifinger and culminating with Marshall’s second three-pointer of the contest to take a 41-35 lead with 13:16 remaining.
Armed with their largest lead of the tilt, the Cardinals took to the defensive end of the floor, only to see the Lakers claw back into the thick of things thanks in large part to Meagan Stover. A layup and a jumper from Stover put a charge into the Oswego State congregation, forcing Catherine Cassidy to keep the home squad at bay with a pair of mid-range jumpers that accounted for the next four Plattsburgh State points.
With a 45-42 lead, the Cardinals fell victim to the play of Stover once again as the Laker led her squad on a 9-1 run culminating with a backbreaking three-point make by Lauren Nunziato with 3:36 to play. Making matters worse, the Cardinals went cold from the field, making just one of their final 15 shots in the game. Tequilla Lloyd registered the only other points of the game for the Cardinals with a free throw make and a layup. The layup by the junior with 1:47 remaining ended a field-goal drought of over eight minutes.
Payne finished with 17 points and nine rebounds while Cassidy added 11 markers, but they were both eclipsed by Stover who netted a game-high 25 points and completed her double-double with a game-high 12 boards. Nunziato was the only other player in double figures, registering 13 and going three-of-six from three-point land.
The Lakers went 16-of-22 from the free throw stripe, while the Cardinals headed to that location on the floor just 10 times and converted on six attempts. Plattsburgh State had a 36-30 advantage in rebounds.
It will be a quick turnaround for the Cardinals as they look to earn a split in their first SUNYAC weekend of the season when they play at SUNY Cortland on Saturday. The game is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
