Box Score CORTLAND, N.Y. – Until Saturday (Dec. 1), Plattsburgh State head women’s basketball coach Cheryl Cole had never won a game against the Red Dragons in Cortland.
Cole wasn’t the only one, though. As a matter of fact, no Plattsburgh State women’s basketball team had gone into Cortland and emerged as the victors since the program began in 1974.
Thanks to Kathleen Payne and Tequilla Lloyd, the Cardinals removed whatever hex had been placed on them in that particular city. The pair joined forces to score the final 16 Plattsburgh State points and the Cardinals weathered a late storm by the home squad to earn a 59-57 victory over their longtime rivals at Corey Gymnasium.
Eager to even their SUNYAC record at 1-1, the Cardinals (3-2, 1-1 SUNYAC) gave the Red Dragons (3-3, 1-1 SUNYAC) very little room to operate offensively in the first half. Aside from scoring the opening bucket of the game and posting another lead of just one point later in the stanza, Cortland was forced to play from behind thanks to a stingy defensive game plan employed by the Cardinals.
On top of their imposing defensive strategy, the Cardinals were extremely efficient on the offensive end. Plattsburgh State nailed its first four field goal attempts of the game, the last of which was a long ball from Catherine Cassidy to, to jump out to a 9-5 lead in the first three minutes of the contest.
Holding off every comeback attempt by the Dragons, the Cardinals stretched their lead to seven when Kathleen Payne drilled a triple with 6:36 remaining in the half. After that, the Red Dragons made one final push in the first half, getting layups from Erin Wolstenholme and Lindsey Minor to claw back to within three before Tequilla Lloyd went to work on the block.
The 6-0 junior easily gave the Cardinals their seven-point advantage back, scoring a pair of layups on back-to-back possessions thanks to some pretty passing by Brittany Marshall. Marshall then drained a mid-range jumper with three seconds remaining in the half, sending the Cardinals to the locker room with a 31-22 lead.
After shooting just 30 percent (nine-for-30) in the opening frame, the Red Dragons came out looking to reverse their fortunes in the final 20 minutes. A 10-4 run keyed by a pair of three-point makes by Megan Touhey brought Cortland to within three, 35-32, with 16:03 remaining in the game.
After Payne sank a free throw and Dana Nucaro capitalized on a jump shot, the Red Dragons used a 6-0 surge to knot things at 38-all after a layup by Grace Williamson. That’s when Marshall put an end to the 14-7 run by the home team, nailing a downtown jumper before making good on a layup on the next Plattsburgh State possession to give the Cardinals a 43-40 edge.
With Marshall having done her offensive damage, it was Lloyd’s turn to take over for a while. The Wingdale, N.Y., product poured in the next seven points for the Cardinals, beginning her forceful run with a three-point play thanks to an assist from Cassidy.
Continuing her torrid start, Payne followed Lloyd’s 7-0 run with a similar one of her own with the final three points coming off a long-range jumper that gave Plattsburgh State a 57-46 lead with 2:41 remaining in the game.
It took just 1:15, however, for the Red Dragons to make it a game once again, using a 7-0 run of their own to get within four with 1:01 remaining. Cassidy put an end to that Cortland run, though, finding Lloyd wide open under the basket. The junior made good on her layup to give the Cardinals a 59-53 lead with less than one minute left on the clock.
The Red Dragons still weren’t done, though, as Touhey answered with a three-point play of her own after getting fouled by Misha Green. After Cassidy missed a crucial free throw, Brooke Demarco went to the line with 11 seconds left and hit one of her two free throws to account for the final margin.
Again, Payne misfired from the stripe on the ensuing Plattsburgh State possession which gave the Red Dragons one final shot, but Brittany Rando’s three-point try bounced off the front of the rim as time expired to preserve the win for the Cardinals.
Payne led the way with a game-high 20 points on seven-of-16 shooting while Lloyd put up a career-high 16 on seven-of-nine shooting off the bench. Marshall scored seven points while dishing out a game-high eight assists. Cassidy finished with seven points and four of the Cardinals’ 19 assists.
Touhey had 16 for the Red Dragons, who shot just 21-of-58 (36.2 percent) from the field. Minor had 12 to go along with a team-high five assists. Cortland committed 21 turnovers in the game – two more than the Cardinals.
Plattsburgh State hit 24 of their 53 field goals (45.3 percent), and made six of their 12 shots from three-point land. The Red Dragons went four-of-19 from beyond the arc, but held a 36-30 rebounding edge over the Cardinals.
After splitting their opening weekend of SUNYAC play, the Cardinals return to Memorial Hall on Friday to host league foe Fredonia State. The opening tip is set for 6 p.m.
