Box Score PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – It certainly wasn’t the prettiest way for the Plattsburgh State women’s basketball team to earn a victory, but as the old adage goes, a win is a win.

Kathleen Payne gave the Cardinals their only lead of the game when it mattered, knocking down a triple with 28 seconds remaining to lead Plattsburgh State to a 51-47 triumph over Norwich on Tuesday night in Memorial Hall.

The three-pointer – one of just two in the game for the Cardinals – was made possible by Brittany Marshall who, like the rest of her team, struggled mightily from the field. Although she picked up five assists, the sophomore finished with just two made field goals on 16 attempts.

As a team, the Cardinals shot a woeful 19-of-77 (24.7 percent), and were forced to rely on their defense for the majority of the tilt.

Neither side seemed very eager to get going on the offensive end in the early stages of the game before Norwich’s Sheridan Steiner tallied the first basket of the game – a layup – with 15:12 remaining in the opening stanza.

Just getting to 50 points probably seemed like a tall order for the Cardinals if the opening half was any indication. Plattsburgh State went 0-for-11 from the field to open the game, compounding the damage with a quartet of turnovers.

Fortunately, the Cardinals came ready to play on the defensive end of the floor, allowing the Cadets to amass just a 6-0 lead on 2-of-10 shooting before Catherine Cassidy finally connected from three-point range with 11:55 remaining in the first frame to bring Plattsburgh State within three.

The Cadets saw their lead grow to as many as 10 points in the first half as Plattsburgh State continued its dreadful night from the field. The Cardinals connected on just 6-of-35 (17.1 percent) of their shot attempts in the first half, but benefitted greatly from 19 Norwich turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.

Devona Paul kept the Cardinals within striking distance, going 1-of-2 from the charity stripe before drilling a jumper in the painted area in the final 23 seconds of the half that trimmed the Norwich lead to 26-19 entering the break. The freshman poured in seven points in the first half to pace the Cardinals.

An 8-0 run by the Cadets to begin the final stanza put the Cardinals in a seemingly-insurmountable 34-19 hole but that’s when the Cardinals began to awake from their offensive slumber. A grind-it-out style 15-3 run by the home team brought Plattsburgh State to within three, 37-34 with 9:41 to go in the game.

Payne scored eight of the 15 points for the Cardinals during the surge which began with a fast break layup by Marshall. The Cadets turned to their inside game to increase their lead for the final time as five of their next nine points occurred at the free throw line.

Trailing 46-38 with 4:33 remaining in the game, the Cardinals went on an 8-0 run that culminated with Dana Nucaro knotting matters at 46 on a layup thanks to an assist from Cassidy.

On the ensuing Norwich possession, Jessalyn Sweeney made one of her two free throws to put the visitors up by one before Payne’s game-changing triple. Brooke Reifinger sealed the deal for the Cardinals after that, corralling one of the 59 rebounds collected by Plattsburgh State before draining both of her free throw attempts with eight ticks left on the clock.

Payne scored 15 of her game-high 18 points in the second half and pulled down 10 rebounds to complete her double-double. The junior also added a pair of blocks, two steals and an assist.

Aliah Curry, who entered Memorial Hall averaging 20.9 points per game for the Cadets, was limited to just seven on 2-of-22 shooting that included a 1-of-13 performance from downtown. The Cadets didn’t fare too much better from the field, hitting 25.4 percent (15-of-59) of their attempts, and were led by Kristine Brammer who tallied a team-high 10 markers.

Paul nearly finished with a double-double of her own, netting seven points and pulling down eight rebounds to go along with two of the eight blocked shots for the Cardinals who were 2-of-17 (11.8 percent) from three-point range and 11-of-16 (68.8 percent) from the free throw stripe.

The Cardinals outrebounded the Cadets by 11 (59-48) and didn’t allow Norwich to score a basket in the painted area in the second half.

Their short non-conference home stand now in the books, the Cardinals hit the road this weekend to refocus on SUNYAC action. First up is a trip to SUNY Geneseo to tangle with the Knights, who are tied with Plattsburgh State for third place in the SUNYAC standings at the moment. The contest is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. on Friday.