Box Score ONEONTA, N.Y. – Until Saturday, no Plattsburgh State women's basketball team in program history had won 10 of its first 13 games.

Thanks to accurate free throw shooting, a remarkable defensive effort and another big game from Kathleen Payne, this Plattsburgh State team can now say they were the first to accomplish that feat.

Payne poured in a game-high 28 points on 9-of-16 shooting and the Cardinals limited Oneonta State to a 31.7 percent (19-of-60) shooting clip to come back and defeat the Red Dragons 70-59 at Dewar Arena.

Plattsburgh State improves to 10-3 and 5-1 in league play while Oneonta State slides to 11-3 and 5-2 in SUNYAC tilts. With the victory, the Cardinals move into sole possession of second place in the league standings.
 
Although the day ultimately belonged to the Cardinals, Oneonta State drew first blood when junior center Sarah Longto drove hard inside for a layup before putting the finishing touches on her old-fashioned three-point play with a make at the charity stripe.

Oneonta State would remain in control as Alyshia Crawford made it an 8-4 lead for the home team with her long-range hit four minutes into the tilt.

Payne took it upon herself to keep the Cardinals within shouting distance during the Red Dragons' opening offensive outburst. The high-scoring Goshen, N.Y., native lobbed in 10 straight Plattsburgh State markers during a span of 1:52 which put the visitors on top 12-8 with 14:17 remaining in the opening frame.

Taking umbrage to Payne's one-woman scoring exhibit, Oneonta struck back with an 11-1 surge over the next 5:16 of action. Four different players put in points for the Red Dragons during that stretch, while Tequilla Lloyd provided the only Plattsburgh State point with a swish from the charity stripe.

The Cardinals struggled through that particular stretch, going 0-for-4 from the field and committing four turnovers before finally righting the ship. Ayomide Adedapo was called on off the bench and responded by drilling a big three-pointer to trim Oneonta State's edge to 19-18 with 6:48 showing on the clock.

Oneonta State, though, continued to forge ahead, relying on Cara Adams who came through with five consecutive points to push the lead back to six, 24-18, for the home team.

Once again, Payne was the catalyst for the Cardinals' comeback as the senior conjured up a rare four-point play to cut Oneonta's edge to 24-22 with 5:48 to go in the first 20-minute stanza. The long ball by Payne was the sole field goal the Cardinals had to their credit in the final 6:42 of the half, but continued successes at the foul line worked well enough to put the Cardinals in front.

A 7-for-9 showing at the charity stripe coupled with some splendid defense in the last 5:38 of the frame allowed the Cardinals to knot the score at 28-all entering the halftime break. Plattsburgh State limited Oneonta to a 1-of-5 performance from the field during that stretch and forced five Red Dragon turnovers.

At the onset of the deciding frame, Crawford put in the first three points for Oneonta, but another long-range basket off the hand of Payne went on to produce the final tie of the game.

Joining up with Payne to put the Cardinals in front for good was fellow senior Brooke Reifinger. The Oswego, N.Y., product put in four consecutive points for the visitors, beginning with a corner triple that extended the Plattsburgh State advantage to 36-31 with 16:12 to go.

Payne and Reifinger were responsible for the first nine Plattsburgh State points of the half, and the Red Dragons could never produce a suitable counterpunch. On five different occasions, Oneonta State whittled the Plattsburgh State lead down to just one point, but the Cardinals responded with a field goal make of their own at each one of those junctures to prevent the Red Dragons from regaining their once comfortable lead.

Grace Schilling banked home a layup with 9:22 to go which reduced the Cardinals' edge to one, 46-45, for the final time. The Cardinals buckled down defensively, allowing the Red Dragons to make just one field goal during the rest of the SUNYAC confrontation. Thanks to their intense defensive pressure, the Cardinals saw their lead rise to 11 by employing a 14-4 offensive surge over 4:26 to make themselves somewhat comfortable for the remainder of the showdown.

Oneonta State made their final push from the free throw line, netting seven consecutive points from that location to trim the Plattsburgh State lead to 60-57 with 1:29 left, but the Cardinals went on to show their prowess from the stripe to finish off their league rivals. Through the final 1:29, Plattsburgh State hit all 10 of its free throw attempts to secure the win.

Plattsburgh State let the Red Dragons shoot just 1-for-11 during the last 9:22 and forced an additional four turnovers during that span, too.

The Cardinals possessed an edge in nearly every statistical category, and used a 23-of-27 (85.2 percent) showing at the free throw line to protect their bid for a win. Joining Payne in double figures were Marshall (13) and Reifinger (12).

Marshall went 10-of-10 from the free throw line while Reifinger enjoyed her highest-scoring outing of the season. Lloyd pulled down a game-high eight rebounds in the triumph.

Crawford finished with 17 points to lead the way for the home team. Schilling (15) and Adams (13) rounded out the main scoring trio for the Red Dragons.

A three-game week is next up on the schedule for the Cardinals. On Tuesday night, Plattsburgh State welcomes SUNYAC and North Country rival SUNY Potsdam into Memorial Hall for a 6 p.m. tip.