Box Score PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Every once in a while, the final score of a collegiate basketball game is not indicative of what really happened through the majority of it.

That was certainly the case for the Plattsburgh State women's basketball team when they faced off against The College at Brockport. 

Brittany Marshall and Devona Paul combined for 19 of the 21 points during a pivotal 21-9 surge in the closing stages of the second half which helped the Cardinals fend off a pesky Brockport squad via a 76-64 tally in Memorial Hall on Saturday afternoon.

With the triumph, the Cardinals improve to 8-3 and 3-1 in league play while the Golden Eagles drop to 5-4 and 1-1 in league bouts. In picking up their third straight triumph, the Cardinals have matched the best 11-game start in program history.

A 19-of-30 (63.3 percent) field goal clip in the deciding frame allowed the Cardinals to finish the game with a shooting percentage of 47.4 (27-of-57). Brockport posted a respectable field goal mark of 41.4 percent (24-of-58), but the Cardinals enjoyed a 39-29 edge in rebounds and committed two fewer turnovers than their foes from eastern New York (19-17).

A back-and-forth trend which would manifest itself far more often in the second half was present for a few minutes directly after the opening tip occurred. Brockport slung in the first four markers of the SUNYAC encounter before senior Kathleen Payne connected on both of her free throw attempts to put the Cardinals on the board for the first time with 17:42 showing on the first-half clock.

Payne's successes at the charity stripe were just the start of a 7-0 run by the Cardinals that wrapped up with a hard-driving layup by Tequilla Lloyd.

Battling back with their strong pair of post players in Anna Feller and Alexandra Marshall, the Golden Eagles trimmed the Cardinals' edge to 9-8 a little less than halfway through the first stanza. With the offense for both clubs developing at a lethargic pace, Payne began to put in points at a far more rapid rate of speed.

Over the next 3:48, the Goshen, N.Y., product began to assault Brockport from all areas of the floor, pouring in 11 points as part of a 13-2 surge by the Cardinals. With her almost single-handed scoring outburst in the books, Payne and the rest of the Plattsburgh State squad were up 22-10 with 5:45 left in the first half.

Not eager to get run out of the gym, the Golden Eagles responded with a sizable scoring surge of their own during the next 4:43. A seven-player squadron registered points during a 17-7 offensive blitz by the Golden Eagles, who knotted things up at 27 after Hannalee Fordyce swished a pair of free throws with 1:03 left.

Two more free throw makes by Payne and an acrobatic driving layup from an exceptionally difficult angle by fellow senior Brooke Reifinger allowed the Cardinals to retake the lead and head into the halftime break up 31-28.

During the first 4:35 of the final 20-minute period, the teams would go on to match each other basket-for-basket. A total of nine lead changes took place in that span before Reifinger put the Cardinals up for good with a jumper in the painted area that made it a 41-40 ballgame.

On the occasions where the Cardinals seemed poised to pull away, Brockport would respond with a well-timed field goal make, including a short jump shot by Feller which decreased the Cardinals' advantage to 51-47 with 9:10 to go.

Things took a turn for the worse when Payne was whistled for her fourth personal foul while 8:18 still remained in the game, but that was when the Cardinals decided to put the Golden Eagles' interior defense to the test.

Misha Green started up the decisive Plattsburgh State offensive run with a second-chance layup after Paul hustled down an offensive rebound. From there, it was Paul's turn to go to work inside and the sophomore didn't disappoint.

The next five Plattsburgh State points were scored by the Blauvelt, N.Y., product before Marshall joined the party with a fast break layup to push the Plattsburgh State lead to 60-49.

Two more interior makes by Paul coupled with a pair of back-breaking long balls by Marshall upped the Cardinals' edge to 70-56 with 2:47 to go, allowing the Cardinals to cruise to the finish line.

Payne finished with a team-high 15 for the Cardinals while Marshall and Paul chipped in 15 and 14 respectively. Feller led the charge for Brockport with a game-high 18 markers while Faith Welch added 16 of her own.

A rest period of just fewer than six days will come to pass before the Cardinals re-engage in SUNYAC basketball warfare. Next Friday, Plattsburgh State will head south and pay a visit to the Hawk Center to take on defending SUNYAC champion New Paltz at 6 p.m.