Box Score NEW YORK – For the majority of the 2012-13 season, the Plattsburgh State women’s basketball team has hung its collective hat on a much improved brand of defense.

While the Cardinals were by no means slouches on the defensive end of the floor against William Smith on Saturday (Dec. 29), they had the misfortune of running into a team that was as defensive-minded as the Cardinals themselves.

Plattsburgh State connected on just 32.4 percent of their field goals and suffered from a pair of untimely offensive outages as it dropped a 56-53 decision to the Herons in the second game of the New York University Holiday Classic.

Prefacing one of the primary Plattsburgh State game plans during the afternoon, Dana Nucaro blocked the first field goal attempt William Smith got off. The Herons took one of their two first half leads with a pair of free throws, accounting for the first points of the contest.

Reigning SUNYAC Player of the Week Brittany Marshall started the Cardinals’ response with a hard-driving layup that launched an 8-0 run for Plattsburgh State that featured scores from a quartet of players.

A short jumper off the hands of Teqilla Lloyd followed by a pair of free throw makes by the junior gave the Cardinals a 10-4 advantage with 15:57 remaining in the first stanza before Sasha Borenstein began showing off her range for William Smith. The Agoura Hills, Calif., product drilled the first of her three triples in the frame on the ensuing possession to bring the Herons within three points.

Not limiting her talents solely to the scoring column, Lloyd grabbed one of her five rebounds in the half off a Kathleen Payne misfire from downtown. Eventually, the ball found its way into the mitts of Marshall who nailed a long ball of her own that made it 13-7 Plattsburgh State with 15:15 left in the opening 20 minutes.

After Borenstein launched and connected on another triple, the Cardinals embarked on a 7-0 spurt that culminated with a three-ball by Brooke Reifinger thanks to a great pass from Tassica Halstead. Armed with their largest lead of the contest at 20-10 with 10:52 to go in the half, Plattsburgh State would need every bit of that lead as things turned very dicey thanks to an inability to put the ball in the basket.

The Cardinals suffered through a woeful stretch of 6:49 that saw them go 0-of-9 from the field while committing five turnovers. Seizing their opportunity, the Herons went on a 12-0 run to take a 22-20 lead before Lloyd banked in a layup at the 4:03 mark of the frame to terminate the big William Smith spurt. Payne came through with a layup of her own with 1:29 to go in the half to send the Cardinals to their locker room with a slim 24-22 advantage.

Upon returning to the court in the second half, the Cardinals were victimized by yet another sizable burst of offensive activity by the Herons who used a 10-0 run to take a 32-24 lead with 16:26 left in regulation.

Unwilling to let the game slip away, Payne took it upon herself to keep the Cardinals in striking distance. The junior netted five consecutive markers for Plattsburgh State, bringing her squad within four points with 15:16 showing on the second-half clock.  

Thanks to Chloe Hayter and Jaimie Rubin, however, the Herons were able to hold the Cardinals at arm’s length for the majority of the frame. The devastating duo poured in 23 of the 34 William Smith points in the deciding frame.

Down 43-37 with 10:23 left in the game, the Cardinals finally regained their offensive composure. A 12-4 run ending with a three-ball from Catherine Cassidy gave Plattsburgh State their only lead of the frame at 49-45 with 6:28 remaining.

Unfortunately, the Cardinals were unable to maintain their offensive onslaught as they once again went cold from the field. An 11-0 run by William Smith finished with a devastating three-pointer from Borenstein with 1:50 remaining all but sealed things up for the Herons.

Lloyd’s layup with 52 ticks remaining was the only field goal the Cardinals connected on since Cassidy’s trifecta as a three-point attempt by Marshall at the buzzer didn’t go down.

The squads were nearly even from the field as the Herons cashed in on 34.5 percent (19-of-55) of their field goal attempts, but Plattsburgh State couldn’t contain Jacqueline Murphy. The 5-4 guard corralled a game-high 19 rebounds – setting a NYU Holiday Tournament record in the process.

Lloyd was the only Plattsburgh State player to reach the double-digit plateau as she put in 12 points. Reifinger enjoyed a great all-around outing, scoring eight points to go along with six rebounds, five steals, three blocked shots and a pair of assists. Lloyd and Misha Green each nabbed seven boards to pace the Cardinals in that department.

Hayter tallied a game-high 18 points while Borenstein added 15 on 5-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc. Rubin added 13 markers to round out the William Smith triumvirate of top scorers.

Plattsburgh State went 5-of-5 from the free throw stripe, while the Herons were 11-of-18 from that distance.

Plattsburgh State will look to salvage a split at the NYU Holiday Classic as they face off against Skidmore at 1 p.m. on Sunday.