Box Score PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Quick. Physical. Hard-working. Athletic. Those adjectives could certainly be used interchangeably when speaking about the women's basketball teams from Plattsburgh State and Lebanon Valley College.

When the two squads met up with each other in the championship game of the Hampton Inn/Mictotel Cardinal Classic, two things – Brittany Marshall and Kathleen Payne – were present and accounted for on one team but not the other and that turned out to be all the difference.

Payne led all scorers with 28 points en route to Hampton Inn/Microtel Cardinal Classic MVP honors as the Cardinals surged past previously undefeated No. 20-ranked Lebanon Valley in the second half for a 73-61 triumph in Memorial Hall on Sunday afternoon. Marshall, who joined Payne on the All-Tournament Team, added 18 points as well as game-highs in assists (five) and steals (three).

Plattsburgh State, which has reeled off three consecutive victories, improves to 3-2 while the balanced Dutchmen (4-1) were on the losing end of a basketball game for the first time in 2013-14.

Not living up to her impressive career numbers in the semifinal bout against Clarkson, Lebanon Valley's Caitlin Bach found her rhythm on the offensive end of the floor early on in the championship bout. The senior recorded the first four points of the contest before Marshall and Payne began to take over.

Marshall found Payne for a wide open mid-range jumper that put the Cardinals on the board for the first time with 1:57 gone in the tilt. Then, it was Marshall's turn to provide some scoring punch as the Malone, N.Y., product amassed five points in a matter of eight seconds. The junior fired and hit a triple before picking off an errant pass by the Dutchmen and racing the other way for a fast break score that gave the home squad a 7-4 lead with 16:50 remaining in the opening frame.

Continuing to buoy her team on both ends of the floor, Marshall connected on her first four field goal attempts of the tilt to help her squad build a 27-17 advantage over the visiting group with 6:58 left in the first half.

Imposing their will on the Dutchmen from all locations, the Cardinals widened their advantage to as many as 12 points on a trio of occasions in the first half before the Dutchmen went on to threaten for the only time in the contest.

Directly after another fast break layup from Marshall that gave her squad a 36-26 lead with 2:36 to go in the first half, Lebanon Valley began to heat up from the field and used an 11-0 scoring spurt to take a 37-36 lead into the halftime strategy session.

Peyton Carper put in five of the 10 Dutchmen points during that particular run.

That lead, though, was one of three Lebanon Valley would get their hands on during the bout as back-to-back long balls by Payne and fellow senior Brooke Reifinger gave the Cardinals a 42-39 edge just 58 seconds into the final 20-minute period.

Continuing to pound the ball in the painted area, the Dutchmen were rewarded for their aggressiveness with a quartet of makes at the charity stripe to gain a slim 43-42 advantage before Payne went to work. The senior contributed seven points during a 12-0 run by the home squad which culminated with freshman Jax Miller dialing up and connecting on a long three-point basket with 13:03 remaining in the final frame.

Try as they might, Lebanon Valley had no answers powerful enough to catch all the way back up to the speedy Cardinals. A pair of free throw makes by Alyssa Cirucci whittled the Cardinals' margin down to 62-56 with five minutes to go, but junior Misha Green forced her way through a concentrated group of Dutchmen defenders to hustle down an offensive rebound before laying in the put-back to begin a 5-0 run the stretched the Cardinals' lead back up to double digits.

All in all, it was an evenly matched game between the two clubs as the Cardinals hit 25-of-64 (39.1 percent) of their field goal attempts while limiting the Dutchmen to a 19-of-49 (38.8 percent) performance. Once again, the Cardinals' fierce intensity on defense resulted in 26 Lebanon Valley turnovers which were turned into 25 Plattsburgh State points.

Reifinger also chipped in 10 points for the Cardinals who committed just 12 turnovers of their own. Carper and Lexie Lantz put in 12 points each for the Dutchmen while All-Tournament Team selection Kiely Chaklos added 11. Bach rounded out the main group of scorers with 10 points and hauled down six of the 41 rebounds for the Dutchmen.

2014 will be the next time the Cardinals take part in any game-related basketball activity within the confines of Memorial Hall. Plattsburgh State will hit the road on Tuesday, Dec. 3, for a non-conference matchup at Norwich. Tip-off between the Cadets and Cardinals is slated for 7 p.m.

Third-Place Game – Clarkson 76, Morrisville State 44
 
Cara Manfredi scored a tournament-high 30 points to lead the Clarkson Golden Knights to a 76-44 victory over Morrisville State in the third-place game of the Hampton Inn/Microtel Cardinal Classic on Sunday afternoon.
 
Clarkson built up a 36-20 lead over the Mustangs at the half and stretched their sizable advantage to as many as 41 points in the late stages of the second half while Morrisville State to a 25.5 percent (14-of-55) performance from the field.
 
Ashley Loggins added 17 for Clarkson, who improved to 3-2. 
 
All-Tournament Team
Jennel Paul (Morrisville State)
Cara Manfredi (Clarkson)
Kiely Chaklos (Lebanon Valley)
Brittany Marshall (Plattsburgh State)
MVP – Kathleen Payne (Plattsburgh State)