GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico – Aiming for its second upset of a top 25-ranked team in as many days, the Plattsburgh State women's basketball team instead ran into a No. 2-ranked Thomas More College squad which was intent on making sure it wouldn't have another close call.
The Cardinals dropped a 93-50 decision to the Saints at Mario Morales Coliseum on Monday evening, sending Plattsburgh State's record to 4-4 while Thomas More notched its ninth triumph of the season.
Boasting Sydney Moss, the defending NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Player of the Year as named by no less than three separate agencies, the Saints made things extremely difficult for the Cardinals who shot just 15-of-49 (30.6 percent) for the game.
Plattsburgh State was also on the wrong end of a 53-27 rebounding margin in the loss. Crisp ball movement on the Saints' end led to the designated visiting team lacing some 47.2-percent (34-of-72) of its field goal attempts. That figure included an impressive 11-of-23 (47.8-percent) figure from long distance.
In the opening minutes, junior Stephanie Linder helped the Cardinals obtain their only lead of the game when the Cadyville, N.Y., product embarked on an aggressive attack run to the hoop. After hitting the layup, Linder ventured to the charity stripe and hit her attempt which made things 3-2 Cardinals 1:07 into things.
Any momentum Plattsburgh State may have gathered up during that stretch was quickly snatched away by the Saints who took off on a 15-2 run over the next 3:50. Five players pumped in points for Thomas More during the surge which culminated with a layup from Moss.
Undeterred, the Cardinals kept taking it to the Saints with the objective of regaining the lead once again. Senior Brittany Marshall sparked a 9-0 Plattsburgh State scoring spree by splashing a long ball before Misha Green contributed an old-fashioned three-point play of her own to the run.
Linder pulled the designated home squad within two, 16-14, after she laced a trifecta in the far corner with 12:56 to go in the opening half. Unfortunately, that was as close as the Cardinals would come to grabbing the edge.
After an Allie Taylor layup which made matters 19-16 – still in favor of the Saints – with 12:22 remaining in the first stanza, the Cardinals fell victim to the Saints' swarming defense. Through the remainder of the frame, Plattsburgh State hit just one more field goal and witnessed the Saints reel off a 25-1 run to up their advantage to 34-17.
The Saints' lead ballooned to as many as 24 points in the initial frame, and for the rest of the game the Cardinals could only get as close as 21 points away. That happened when Marshall drilled another three-pointer to kick off the deciding 20-minute half.
Marshall registered a team-high 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting for the Cardinals while Taylor added 13 in 16 minutes off the Plattsburgh State bench. Sophomore Jax Miller yanked down a team-high six rebounds and Jessica Dolan added five.
Abby Owings poured in a game-high 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting for the Saints. Moss added 17 with nine rebounds and four assists while Sam Cady contributed an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double to the winning cause.
With their two-game tropical slate in the books, the Cardinals will make a return trip to Memorial Hall for another non-conference engagement. In their first home game in almost a month, Plattsburgh State will do battle against NESCAC opponent Middlebury College on Tuesday, Jan. 6. Tip-off has been slated for 7:30 p.m.
