Box Score PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Fresh off a game which saw her take over as the highest scoring player in the history of Plattsburgh State women's basketball, Kathleen Payne decided to try for yet another record in the Cardinals' final home action of January. 

The senior celebrated her first game as the all-time leading scorer by pumping in a game and career-high 35 points to lead the Cardinals (13-4, 8-2 SUNYAC) to an electrifying 80-75 victory over Oneonta State (13-5, 7-4 SUNYAC) in Memorial Hall on Friday night.

The Goshen, N.Y., native was 11-of-21 from the field, 9-of-9 from the free throw line and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds while coming up with a game-high four blocked shots. Sophomore Devona Paul finished with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting while Brittany Marshall added 14 - none bigger than her final five. 

Both teams were just about even in terms of shooting, with the Cardinals enjoying a slight edge in field goal percentage - 40.9 (27-of-66) to 38.5 (25-of-65). 

On only two occasions has a Plattsburgh State women's basketball player exited the floor at the conclusion of a 40-minute contest with more points than Payne registered on Friday. Back in 1986, former Cardinal great TJ Cornwright put in 36 against Binghamton and Monica Rodriguez also accomplished the feat in 1995 against – oddly enough – Oneonta State.

Enraged that they had come up short in their past two meetings with the Cardinals – both of which occurred in Oneonta – the Red Dragons came out firing, taking a 6-0 lead and putting their impressive zone defense on display for the first 4:05.

It took that long before the Cardinals finally saw their point total move upward for the first time. Sophomore Devona Paul split a pair of free throw attempts before connecting on a mid-range jumper from the baseline.

Payne began her near-historic performance with a long-range hit to knot matters at six before she and Marshall tossed in layups to cap off a 10-0 Plattsburgh State surge with 14:03 remaining in the opening stanza.

Oneonta State, though, possessed an offensive-minded player of its own who consistently kept her team within shouting distance. Alyshia Crawford made sure the Red Dragons' early lead wouldn't be their last, peppering the Cardinals with the next eight points for the visitors' which included a pair of downtown makes.

The Cardinals snatched the advantage right back after Stephanie Linder nailed a triple, stemming Crawford's tide. Sara DiPasquale helped the Red Dragons capture their second-to-last lead of the opening frame by hitting a mid-range jumper that made matters 16-15 with 10:56 showing on the first-half clock.

Paul, Linder and Payne – the latter doing her damage at the charity stripe – helped the Cardinals retake the lead and hike it to 25-20 before DiPasquale drew the curtain on a 6-0 surge by the visitors by netting four points in the painted area.

Trailing 26-25, Payne and Paul put in all but two points as part of a 16-8 Plattsburgh State tear to close out the opening stanza.

Before the first 25-percent of the final frame was in the books, Brittany Marshall upped Plattsburgh State's edge to 50-41 by drilling a deep triple. Back-to-back jumpers courtesy of Payne allowed the Cardinals to maintain a 56-49 edge with 10:28 to go before the Red Dragons elected to pound the ball down low in an attempt to leave Memorial Hall with a SUNYAC triumph in tow.

Each and every marker the Red Dragons put in on their 12-2 run came inside the paint or at the foul line, with towering post star Sarah Longto closing the books on the sizable surge with an old-fashioned three-point play which put the visitors up 61-58 with 6:30 to go.

Unwilling to let her team fall, Payne pulled up from deep on the very next Plattsburgh State possession and canned a three-pointer before Crawford replicated the feat on Oneonta's next offensive trip.

Payne wasn't through, as she swished on off-balance jumper while getting fouled by Kelly Mulligan. Her hit at the free throw line pulled the Cardinals even at 64 with 5:42 to play. As was the case before, Crawford came right back and answered Payne's three-point play with an additional swish from beyond the arc.

Another senior, Brooke Reifinger, put the Cardinals in front 68-67 after ripping down an offensive rebound and connecting on a layup with 3:50 remaining in the wild tilt. Four straight points by the Red Dragons, concluding with a pair of free throw makes by Grace Schilling, put the visitors in front for the final time.

Striking again from long range, Payne knotted things at 71 before Marshall elicited the largest cheer of the night from the sizable Plattsburgh State congregation. The Malone, N.Y., product added to her school-record three-point field goal total by drilling the go-ahead long ball with 1:49 to go.

Marshall would go on to seal the deal with a quick step-back jumper which put the Cardinals up 76-72 with 47 seconds remaining. Plattsburgh State closed out the thrilling triumph with a 4-of-6 showing at the free throw line.

Crawford threw in a team-high 26 points and Schilling added 19 for the Red Dragons.

After closing out the month of January with a win, the Cardinals will look for their first February triumph when they welcome New Paltz to Memorial Hall. The SUNYAC bout is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.