Box Score BUFFALO, N.Y. – Second halves have been the proverbial thorn in the side of the Plattsburgh State women’s basketball team as of late, and unfortunately that trend continued on Friday evening.

The Cardinals (9-8, 5-5 SUNYAC) took a 31-18 lead into halftime and led by as many as 16 points, but couldn’t seal the deal against Buffalo State (9-8, 5-5 SUNYAC) which earned a 57-48 victory in the SUNYAC tilt thanks to a 39-17 point differential in the deciding frame.

Staking the Cardinals to an early 4-0 advantage, Tequilla Lloyd hit a pair of short jumpers inside the painted area, but the Bengals battled back time and time again thanks to their interior play on the offensive end of the floor.

Ashley Wallace made a killing on the glass, hustling down 11 total rebounds in the first half alone, and coupled with imposing interior star Bianca Smiley the Bengals trailed by just two, 10-8, with 10:49 left in the opening period.

Unsatisfied with their slim lead, the Cardinals took control for the rest of the half. A 17-3 run in which Devona Paul and Kathleen accounted for all but four Plattsburgh State points put the visiting team in control for good. The pair – as well as the rest of the Cardinals – made a mockery of the Bengals’ interior defense by scoring all but seven of their 31 first-half points in the painted area.

Perhaps more impressive than the dominant offensive display by Plattsburgh State was its strong defensive game plan. The Cardinals forced 13 turnovers by the Bengals in the first half and held the normally potent Buffalo State offense to a 6-of-31 (19.4 percent) from the field in the first 20 minutes of action.

Armed with a 27-11 advantage, the Cardinals never let their edge dip below 11 in the first half and they wound up heading to their locker room with a 31-18 lead when the halftime horn blared.

Giving the Cardinals a taste of their own medicine almost directly off of the initial inbounds pass of the deciding frame, the Bengals decided to force the issue inside. Two free throws each from Smiley and Wallace trimmed the Plattsburgh State lead to 31-22 and set the tone for the remainder of the game.

In the first 10:33 of the final stanza, the Bengals went on a 20-7 scoring spree, trimming the Plattsburgh State lead to 38-36 after Wallace finished off a three-point play with a make at the charity stripe. During the calamitous stretch, the Cardinals lost nearly all composure from the field as they hit just two of their 18 field goal attempts and turned the ball over three times.

A one-handed jumper from Payne and a pair of free throws by Brooke Reifinger allowed the Cardinals to cling to their once-comfortable lead before a layup from Smiley gave the Bengals their first lead of the game, 43-42, with 7:26 to go.

Inserted into the game to keep the Bengals from thriving in the painted area, Ayomide Adedapo nailed three free throws that gave the Cardinals a 47-43 lead with 5:47 to go before the Bengals embarked on their final game-clinching push.

Smiley drilled a jumper in the paint with 5:30 remaining to kick-start a 12-0 surge that put the Bengals on top for good. Olivia Luciani canned one of the two three-pointers for the Bengals on the night, making it a 51-47 lead for the home team with just 62 seconds left and the Bengals went on to seal the deal at the free throw stripe.

During the final Buffalo State push, the Cardinals still couldn’t buy a basket, going 0-of-7 from the field and committing four turnovers.

Plattsburgh State finished with 13 turnovers – eight of which occurred in the second half – while the Bengals had 17 but just four in the deciding frame. Payne scored a team-high 15 points for Plattsburgh State, leaving her six shy of the 1,000-point mark. Paul added 10 while collecting six rebounds. Lloyd finished with eight markers and a team-high 11 rebounds.

Wallace scored a game-high 19 points and hauled in 12 rebounds for Buffalo State. Smiley, who was largely a non-factor in the first matchup between the two clubs this season, added 18 points and eight boards.

The Cardinals were out-rebounded 56-48 and shot 18-of-72 (25 percent) from the field including a 1-of-12 (8.3 percent) mark from downtown.   Not doing much better from the field, Buffalo State hit 27.4 percent (17-of-62) of their shots, but made good on 21-of-26 (80.8 percent) attempts at the free throw stripe.

Plattsburgh State will look to get back on track on Saturday when they head to Fredonia seeking a season sweep of the Blue Devils. The game is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.