Boxscore and Play-by-Play
Photo Gallery - Courtesy of Gabe Dickens

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Despite a resilient second half rally, the Plattsburgh State women’s basketball team (9-13, 6-10 SUNYAC) dropped a 79-72 decision to visitors New Paltz (16-8, 14-3 SUNYAC) in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action.

The Hawks dominated the opening stanza, shooting 47.4 percent from the field and 50 percent from three point range. Although the Cardinals shot 40.7 percent from the field, they could not keep up with Hawks, who led 45-29 at the break.

The second half saw the Cardinals come out faster and they knocked the deficit down to three points when Brittany Marshall finished a layup with 9:23 remaining in the game. Plattsburgh consistently drove to the basket and this resulted in frequent trips to the free throw line. Kathleen Payne shot 12 of her 15 free throws in the second half, making 10 of them to keep Plattsburgh in the game. The Hawks would not give up their lead however, and a Maliqua Fisher layup with 4:29 remaining gave them a 14 point lead.

At the 8:52 mark, Payne broke the program’s single-season scoring record when she hit a layup and drew a foul on the play for her ninth point of the night. Payne finished with 22 points, taking her season total 436 points, breaking the previous mark of 422 set by Donna Dixon in the 1987-88 season.

Payne also added 10 rebounds for the double-double and Dana Nucaro notched a double-double of her own with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Brittany Marshall scored 16 points and dished out six assists, while Kerri Salisbury hit 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

Alex McCullough scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Hawks and Fished added 14 points on 6-of-16 shooting. Caitlin Irwin and Fisher scored 12 and 11 points respectively.

The Cardinals go on the road for their final regular season games this weekend. Friday they will visit Brockport at 6 p.m. and then Saturday they will take on Geneseo at 2 p.m.