PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – For the first time in the 31-year history of the tournament, Plattsburgh State will serve as the host institution for the 2014 SUNYAC Women's Basketball Championship Tournament which is set to begin at 6 p.m. on Friday (Feb. 28) in Memorial Hall.

Ticket prices are $6.00 for general admission and $3.00 for children ages 12 and under. All SUNY students who possess a valid ID will gain free admittance to the games. Tickets can be purchased in the lobby of Memorial Hall at beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday and 3 p.m. on Saturday. The quest for the championship will see No. 2 seed Buffalo State take on No. 3 seed SUNY Geneseo in the first semifinal game at 6 p.m. before host institution and No. 1 overall seed Plattsburgh State faces off against No. 5 SUNY Cortland at 8 p.m.

The winners of the two semifinal games will meet in the SUNYAC Tournament Finals which are scheduled to tip-off at 4 p.m. on Saturday (March 1). Fans that are unable to make the trip to Plattsburgh can follow all the action via live statistical coverage, live video coverage (provided by Northeast Sports Network) and live internet radio coverage (provided by WQKE – Plattsburgh State's campus radio station). The links for all of the multimedia service can be found at the end of this release.

SEMIFINAL NO. 1 – NO. 2 BUFFALO STATE vs. NO. 3 SUNY GENESEO
BUFFALO STATE (19-6, 14-4 SUNYAC)
Roster - 2013-14 Schedule/Results - 2013-14 Statistics
Returning to the building where they suffered just their sixth defeat of the season which decided the SUNYAC regular season championship, the Bengals will aim to pick up their 10^th SUNYAC Championship Tournament trophy overall and first since the 2001-02 season.

For the majority of the regular season, Buffalo State sat atop the SUNYAC standings, but a 2-3 stretch over their last five tilts dropped the Bengals to the second seed. Senior Staci McElroy leads a well-balanced Buffalo State attack by averaging 14.4 points per game on 44.9-percent field goal shooting.

A pair of imposing post players in senior Bianca Smiley and junior Ashley Wallace anchors the Bengals' inside game. Smiley is averaging 11.6 points and leads the team with eight rebounds per tilt while Wallace has poured in 10.5 points per game while hauling in 7.3 rebounds per game.

In terms of rebounding, the Bengals check in at second place in the SUNYAC in terms of rebounding offense (44.5 per game) and lead the 10-team conference in cleaning up the offensive glass (15 per game).

SUNY GENESEO (20-6, 13-5 SUNYAC)
Roster - 2013-14 Schedule/Results - 2013-14 Statistics
Tuesday proved to be much tenser than anticipated for SUNY Geneseo, but thanks to the heroics of Dana Cohen the Knights pushed past Fredonia State 55-52 to advance to the semifinals. The sophomore canned back-to-back triples in the final 38 seconds of the tilt – the last of which came with one second remaining on the clock – to help the Knights come back to defeat the Blue Devils.

With their latest triumph, the Knights were able to retain their billing as the team which is arguably playing their best basketball as of late. Winners of their last seven tilt and nine of their previous 10, SUNY Geneseo went 1-1 in their meetings with Buffalo State in the regular season. The win came in Buffalo by a 75-45 tally during the Bengals' senior day celebration.

Defense and rebounding are the hallmarks of this Knights squad, as they lead the SUNYAC by allowing just 55.7 points per game on 33.3-percent shooting by the opposition. In terms of total rebounds (44.7 per game), rebounding defense (33.1 per game) and defensive rebounds (32.5 per game), the Knights are the best in the 10-team conference.

Shannon McGinnis is the Knights' leader on the offensive end of the floor, averaging 14.9 points per game. Allison McKenna (10.8 ppg) and Cohan (10.1 ppg) round out the primary scoring threats for the Knights who also lead the SUNYAC in three-point shooting (34.1-percent).

SEMIFINAL NO. 2 – NO. 1 PLATTSBURGH STATE vs. NO. 5 SUNY CORTLAND
PLATTSBURGH STATE (20-5, 15-3 SUNYAC)
Roster - 2013-14 Schedule/Results - 2013-14 Statistics
No other team in the history of Plattsburgh State women's basketball has been as successful as these Cardinals, who captured their first SUNYAC regular season championship with a 94-68 triumph over Buffalo State last Saturday afternoon.

The Cardinals have racked up 20 wins this season, marking the first time in program history that a team has reached the 20-win plateau. Leading the Plattsburgh State charge is senior Kathleen Payne, who is averaging 20 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.

Facilitating matters in the Cardinals' backcourt is junior point guard Brittany Marshall who averages 12.3 points per game and leads the 10-team SUNYAC in assists with 5.9 per tilt. The Malone, N.Y., product directs the top scoring offense in the conference (72.2 points per game). Thanks to Marshall and the rest of the Cardinals' perimeter defenders, this team limiting foes to a 27-percent clip from long range – the best three-point defense in the conference.

Emerging as one of the best two-way players in the conference, sophomore Devona Paul leads the Cardinals in field goal percentage (52.6) and free throw percentage (85.2) while pouring in 11.3 points per game. The 6'0 forward has helped the Cardinals lead the conference in blocked shots per game this season (4.2).  

SUNY CORTLAND (16-10, 11-7 SUNYAC)
Roster - 2013-14 Schedule/Results - 2013-14 Statistics
Of the five losses accumulated by Plattsburgh State in its best season in program history, the Red Dragons have been responsible for all but three of them. In order to punch their tickets to Plattsburgh, the Red Dragons used a 19-8 surge early in the deciding frame to pull away from No. 4 seed Oneonta State, 67-58, on Tuesday night. SUNY Cortland became the second five-seed in as many seasons to go into Oneonta and defeat the Red Dragons in the quarterfinals. Plattsburgh State accomplished that same feat one season ago.

Balance is the name of the game for SUNY Cortland, who is one of just two teams in the SUNYAC which have three players among the top 15 scorers in the conference. Megan Touhey possesses the highest points-per-game average for the Red Dragons, pumping in 12.3 – good for the ninth-highest figure in the conference.

Grace Williamson (11.9 ppg, 12^th in SUNYAC) and Caysea Cohen (11.3 ppg, 14^th in SUNYAC) are the other pair of primary point getters for the Red Dragons. In their Tuesday triumph at Oneonta, Erin Wolstenholme fueled SUNY Cortland's attack with a team-high 16 points.

In the SUNYAC team ranks, the Red Dragons are third in scoring defense (60.3 ppg) and second in both field goal percentage defense (34.8) and three-point field goal percentage defense (28.1).

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