Box Score OSWEGO, N.Y. – Heading into its 2013-14 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) opener, the Plattsburgh State women's basketball team had not emerged as the winning squad in their first conference game of the season since the 2007-08 campaign.

Thanks to Devona Paul, Kathleen Payne and Brittany Marshall, the Cardinals not only earned a win to open league play, they accomplished the task in a convincing manner.

Paul tied a career-high with 16 points and collected a game and career-high 16 rebounds as the Cardinals (5-2, 1-0 SUNYAC) overwhelmed Oswego State in an 83-61 triumph at Max Ziel Gymnasium on Friday night.

A flood of 27 points from Payne, the reigning SUNYAC Women's Basketball Player of the Week, as well as 19 points and a game-high seven assists from Marshall helped boost the Cardinals who led wire-to-wire.

Moments after taking control of the opening tip, sophomore Stephanie Linder ventured out beyond the arc and drilled a three-pointer to put the visiting squad on top 3-0. The Cadyville, N.Y., product went on to wrap up a 12-4 surge over the first 4:09 of the contest with a layup after accepting a sharp pass from Paul.

While the Lakers were unable to hook up on many of their field goal attempts in the opening stages, they managed to sustain their offense with a multitude of trips to the foul stripe. Heather Hebert and Paula Egelston served as the primary point producers for the home squad, putting in 12 of the first 14 markers including six from the free throw stripe.

A close-range shot by Hebert trimmed the Cardinals' advantage to 17-14 with exactly one half of the opening frame in the books, but directly after that occurred, Paul and Payne took over the game.

The pair accounted for 25 of the final 28 points Plattsburgh State accumulated in the opening stanza with Marshall earning the other three by depositing her second long ball of the frame in the Cardinals' hoop which made matters 42-30 with 2:19 displayed on the first-half clock.

Marshall racked up four assists during the final 10 minutes of the first half while the Cardinals' superior size largely stymied the Lakers during their trips down the floor on offense. Oswego State was limited to a woeful 28.1 percent (9-of-32) field goal percentage in the first half, but a 14-of-21 (66.6 percent) performance from the foul line in the opening stanza prevented the Cardinals from blowing the game wide open early on.

When the deciding 20-minute period commenced, Payne teamed up with Brooke Reifinger – who was playing in her hometown – to push the Cardinals' advantage to 51-35 a little over three minutes into the frame. Reifinger chipped in a pair of layups to give the visitors their largest lead of the game at that particular point.

The hot-shooting Cardinals prevented the Lakers from going on any kind of extending scoring run, but the home squad would lessen the Plattsburgh State lead to 66-55 with 6:55 to go after a layup by Lexi Gillard.

From there, a 9-0 surge by the Cardinals extended their lead to 20 with 4:22 left in the game. A pair of layups from Payne, one more from Paul and Marshall's fourth long-range strike of the tilt allowed the visitors to shift to cruise control for the remainder of the bout.

Another close-range bank shot by Reifinger extended the Cardinals' margin to 80-56 – their largest of the game - with 2:12 to go.

Were it not for a 17-of-27 (63 percent) night at the foul stripe for the Lakers, the damage wrought by the visiting squad could have been substantially worse. Shooting 44.9 percent (35-of-78) from the field, the Cardinals restricted the Lakers to a 31.3 percent (20-of-64) evening in terms of field goals.

Paul finished 7-of-10 from the field and chipped in three of the Cardinals' nine blocked shots during the one-sided battle. Payne was 12-of-26 from the field and Marshall turned in a 6-of-11 performance that featured a 5-of-10 mark from downtown.

Thanks in large part to Paul, Plattsburgh State owned a 55-43 rebounding advantage over their hosts. The only area where the visiting squad struggled was at the foul stripe as they sunk just four of their 11 attempts (36.4 percent).

Jenn Robbins (17), Hebert (15) and Egelston (10) paced the Lakers in scoring. Hebert added 15 rebounds and was 11-of-17 from the free throw stripe.  

Just one more SUNYAC tilt stands between the Cardinals and a one-month basketball respite. Plattsburgh State will embark on a 76-mile journey as it heads to Cortland to take on the Red Dragons in a matinee affair on Saturday. Tip-off between the two undefeated conference opponents is scheduled for 2 p.m.