Box Score PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Trailing by six points with 2:33 to go in regulation, the Plattsburgh State women’s basketball team mustered every iota of its basketball moxie and came back to tie things up, but New Paltz outscored the Cardinals 10-6 in the overtime period to earn a 75-71 victory at Memorial Hall on Friday night.

The Cardinals (8-6, 4-2 SUNYAC) shot 69 percent (20-of-29) from the free throw stripe, but misfired on a pair of freebies in the final 11 seconds of regulation that could have sealed the deal and handed the Hawks (13-0, 7-0 SUNYAC) their first loss of the season.

As they did in their previous tilt, the Cardinals controlled the tempo for the majority of the first stanza. Four different players put in points as part of a 10-2 Plattsburgh State run to begin the first SUNYAC contest of 2013 inside Memorial Hall.

Alyssa Gratien showed off her impressive shooting range for the Hawks later on in the period, knotting matters at 22-all with a deep triple as 5:06 remained in the first 20-minute half.

Brittany Marshall replied with a triple of her own – this one of the pull-up variety – on the ensuing Plattsburgh State possession that proved to be the catalyst of a 9-2 surge by the home squad to close out the frame.

Leading 31-24 at the break, the Cardinals shot 14-of-32 (43.8 percent) in the opening frame while limiting the league leaders to a 10-of-34 (29.4 percent) mark from the field.

Initially unfazed by a more resilient New Paltz squad that emerged from its locker room to begin the second half, the Cardinals saw their lead balloon to 11 after layups from Tequilla Lloyd and Dana Nucaro made it a 42-31 game with 16:53 to go in regulation.

It was then that the Hawks buckled down and began the slow process of chipping away at the Plattsburgh State lead. A 20-9 run by the Hawks that was made possible by a variety of players suddenly discovering their offensive touches tied things at 51 with 10:40 remaining in the half.

Taking just their second lead of the game, Michelle Valle knocked down a pair of free throws and Kahsyrah Bryant followed up with a three-point play that made things 56-51 Hawks with 8:06 to go.

A triple from Brittany Marshall combined with a free throw by Misha Green and an additional pair of swishes at the charity stripe by Nucaro gave the Cardinals their final lead of the game, 59-58, with 5:02 remaining in the half.

Towering New Paltz post player Alex McCullough led the Hawks on what appeared to be a game-clinching 7-0 run that made things 65-53 with 2:49 to go, but the Cardinals wouldn’t go down easily.

After Nucaro nailed another pair of free throws, McCullough misfired from downtown and Kathleen Payne drilled a jumper in the painted area that made it a two-point game with 59 ticks remaining in regulation.

Another misfire from beyond the arc by the Hawks saw the ball skip out of bounds and return to the Cardinals with 31 seconds left. On their next offensive possession, the Cardinals snared two offensive rebounds – one of which was by Green who was fouled by Valle with 11 seconds to go. The sophomore canned her first attempt from the free throw stripe, but misfired on her second.

That set the stage for Nucaro, who hustled down the rebound before being dragged to the floor by Valle. The senior went 1-of-2 at the stripe out of a Plattsburgh State timeout and Maliqua Fisher saw her layup roll off of the front of the New Paltz rim, setting the stage for the first Plattsburgh State overtime confrontation of the season.

Regrettably, the Cardinals never led in the extra period thanks to McCullough, who hit a mid-range jumper before heading out beyond the arc to drill a triple that gave the Hawks a 70-67 lead with 2:40 to go in the extra session.

Back-and-forth free throw shooting from the squads still put the Cardinals down by one, 72-71, with 51 seconds remaining. After Devona Paul sank two big freebies, Gratien misfired on another deep attempt from three-point land, giving the ball to the Cardinals with 10 seconds remaining.

Unfortunately, Marshall mishandled the ball, resulting in a backbreaking turnover. After the Hawks made one of their two free throws, Marshall saw her potential game-winning three-pointer bounce off of the front of the rim, all but sealing the deal for the Hawks.

Marshall, one of five Cardinals in double figures, turned in a team-high 16 points to go along with a game-high five assists. Nucaro enjoyed one of the finest games of her career, tallying 13 points and completing a double-double with a team-high 13 rebounds. The senior also had three blocked shots and a trio of takeaways.

Lloyd and Payne each had 11 while Green added 10 for the Cardinals.

McCullough posted game highs in points (18) and rebounds (14) and was three blocks shy of a triple double. Bryant (12 points, 13 rebounds) and Valle (13 points, 11 rebounds) also had double-doubles for the Hawks. Gratien chipped in 11 markers and Fisher added 10 for the SUNYAC leaders.

Although they held a 60-48 edge in the rebounding department, the Cardinals turned the ball over 22 times and went 0-for-6 from the field in the extra frame.

Plattsburgh State will try to get back on track on Saturday when SUNYAC for Oneonta State rolls into Memorial Hall. The game is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.