Box Score Box score
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – A second consecutive rough day from the field led to another defeat for the Plattsburgh State women's basketball team which was on the wrong end of a 72-53 score against Williams College on Sunday afternoon at Lasall Gymnasium.
The Cardinals (0-2) connected on just 16 of their 62 attempts from the field, translating to a shooting percentage of 25.8.
The contest remained scoreless until Kellie MacDonald swished a pair of free throws for the home standing Ephs (2-0) with 2:33 gone in the first 20-minute stanza. Those charity stripe makes proved to be t he beginning of a 6-0 run by the home team to begin the tilt.
Senior Kathleen Payne put Plattsburgh State on the board for the first time by hitting a mid-range jumper before fellow final-year player Brooke Reifinger knocked down a long-range basket to pull the Cardinals within three points, 8-5, with 14:09 to go in the frame.
Unfortunately, that was as close as the visitors would come to grabbing a lead during the one-sided bout as a 12-2 surge by the Ephs gave the home squad a 20-7 advantage nearly midway through the stanza.
Williams went on to extend their lead to as many as 18 points in the first half before the Cardinals embarked on a 7-0 run during the final 2:04 of the half to trim the Ephs' advantage to 32-21. Reifinger added another triple during the spurt while Payne contributed a pair of free throws and a layup to Plattsburgh State's cause.
In the deciding frame, the Ephs clamped down defensively and scorched the nets during a game-clinching 28-9 surge through the first 10:03 of the period. Senior Tequilla Lloyd provided the only three field goals for the Cardinals during the woeful stretch, banking home three layups to bring her point total to six.
Payne finished with a team-high 13 points for the Cardinals, who committed 12 turnovers – 11 fewer than in their previous outing. As a team, Plattsburgh State made 16 of their 19 free throw attempts (84.2 percent).
Lauren McCall netted a game-high 17 points to lead a balanced attack for Williams which sank 26 of their 65 shot attempts (40 percent).
Plattsburgh State will try to reverse its fortunes when the Cardinals return to Memorial Hall for their 2013-14 home debut. On Tuesday evening, North Country rival St. Lawrence (1-1) will storm the Cardinals' home court for a 6 p.m. tip off.
