Box Score GENESEO, N.Y. – If the coaching staff of the SUNY Geneseo women's basketball team had known before the game that both Kathleen Payne and Brittany Marshall had collected exactly zero points in the first stanza, then they probably would have been ecstatic.
 
A situation of that nature did indeed transpire on Saturday afternoon, but fortunately for the Cardinals senior Brooke Reifinger was there to pick up the slack.
 
The Oswego, N.Y., product put in 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the first half before Payne came back to score all of her game-high 22 points in the final frame in an 87-61 Plattsburgh State win over the Knights at Schrader Gymnasium.
 
By way of the win and a loss by Buffalo State, the Cardinals move into a tie for first place in the SUNYAC with a record of 16-4 and 10-2 in the 10-team league. The 16 wins accumulated by the Cardinals this season tie a Plattsburgh State program best.
 
Showing an efficient touch from all areas of the floor, the Cardinals finished 26-of-62 (41.9 percent) from the field which included a 50 percent (12-of-24) clip from long range. Plattsburgh State also forced 20 turnovers which translated to 19 points.
 
Some early quickness put on display by the Knights took the Cardinals by surprise as Bridgit Ryan let just four seconds tick away before banking home a layup which put the home team up early.
 
Evening things up just seconds later was Misha Green, who knocked down a long two-pointer. On the Cardinals' very next trip down the floor, Devona Paul found Reifinger wide open in the far corner and the senior connected on her first trey of the game to put the visitors up 5-4 – their only advantage of the half.
 
The title of more aggressive team went without question to the Knights for a lengthy stretch in the opening stanza. For almost eight minutes, the Cardinals mustered just five points while the home squad uncorked their quick brand of offense on nearly every possession.
 
With her second three-point hit in as many days, Green trimmed the Plattsburgh State deficit to 13-10 with 13:06 to go in the opening half but Geneseo made a bid to run away with the league clash by setting off on a 13-0 surge with an Allison McKenna free throw make.
 
Three-point plays from Shannon McGinnis and Biz Reinhardt allowed the home squad to maintain their 13-point edge before Reifinger led a quintet comprised of more bench players than starters back into the game.
 
Consecutive two-point field goals from Tequilla Lloyd and Paul came first in a 7-0 Cardinal surge which Reifinger finished off with a downtown make. Katie Peterson sank a triple of her own to give the Knights a 31-22 advantage with 3:19 to go in the frame but Jax Miller responded with a deep trey of her own to kick-start a 10-3 Plattsburgh State run which spanned the remainder of the half.
 
Ayomide Adadepo sunk a pair of free throws and Reifinger provided the remaining points with a layup and an off-balance buzzer-beating long range hit just before the halftime horn sounded to pull the Cardinals within 34-32.
 
Once Payne was free to return to action in the deciding half, she wasted no time in unleashing her potent brand of offense. The senior put the Cardinals up 35-34 with a trifecta before Paul capped the 5-0 Plattsburgh State surge with a layup.
 
The advantage would change hands on three occasions in the ensuing minutes, but Marshall put the visiting squad up for good with an uncontested fast-break layup after a steal.
 
Marshall's layup proved to be the beginning of an offensive resurgence for the Cardinals, who took off on a 9-0 run. Aside from Marshall's close-range field goal, the rest of the points came from Payne with two mid-range hits and a long ball which made matters 48-40 Cardinals with 14:05 to go.
 
McGinnis was able fend off the Plattsburgh State onslaught with a triple, but another 8-0 blitz by the visitors made it a 56-43 lead for the Cardinals. Green stuck in a layup to begin her old-fashioned three-point play before Stephanie Linder canned a short jumper. Payne accounted for the last points during the surge by swishing an additional three-pointer.
 
The Knights were never able to cobble together a sufficient offensive response of their own due largely to a swarming, aggressive defensive scheme employed by the Cardinals. Plattsburgh State's edge never dipped below 11 points in the final 11:20, and it was upped to as many as 19 when Payne put in two free throws with 41 ticks remaining.
 
Green added a career-high 14 points for the visiting squad while Paul put in 12 of her own. Ryan came up with 22 markers for the Knights.
 
Four of the Cardinals' final five regular season games will take place in Memorial Hall beginning with a 6 p.m. bout against SUNY Cortland on Friday night.