BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's basketball team outscored Buffalo State in all four quarters en route to a 63-53 victory in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) opener for both teams on Friday evening at the Buffalo State Sports Arena.
 
Freshman forward Frannie Merkel (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) and freshman guard/forward Olivia Souky (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) each posted double-doubles for Plattsburgh State, with Merkel scoring 13 points and adding 11 rebounds and Souky netting 10 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Freshman forward Taylor Clare (Peekskill, N.Y./Peekskill) posted her second consecutive 14-point game—matching a career-high—and senior guard Moe Jones (Freeport, N.Y./Freeport) added 11 points coming off the bench.
 
Buffalo State was led by sophomore guard Grace Licata's 14 points, while sophomore guard Aaliyah Graham and junior guard Caleh McLean added 13 and 11 points, respectively. Sophomore forward Princella McCullough dominated the glass with 18 rebounds on the game.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 4-1 overall (1-0 SUNYAC) with the win and next visits Fredonia tomorrow at 4 p.m. to close out its western New York trip. Buffalo State drops to 3-3 overall (0-1 SUNYAC) with the loss and hosts SUNY Potsdam tomorrow at 4 p.m.
 
Buffalo State had the upper hand early on in the contest, as a 3-pointer by Licata staked the Bengals to a 12-4 lead with 3:24 left in the first quarter. Plattsburgh State, however, finished the stanza on an 11-2 run, and a jumper by Jones flipped the lead in favor of the Cardinals at 15-14 with just 13 seconds left in the first quarter.
 
The Bengals took the lead back on the first possession of the second quarter off a layup by sophomore guard Aaliyah Graham, and Licata scored on Buffalo State's next possession after a defensive stop to give the home team an 18-15 cushion. The two teams traded points until Plattsburgh State went on an 8-0 spurt, which was capped off by a Merkel layup. From that point forward, the Cardinals did not trail the rest of the contest.
 
Though Plattsburgh State took a 31-26 lead into the halftime intermission, neither side gained much separation in the third quarter. The Cardinals opened up a 47-41 advantage early in the fourth quarter before the Bengals countered with a 4-0 spurt, and McLean cut the deficit to two (47-45) with a jumper. Merkel scored on a jumper in the paint and sophomore guard Bella DePasquale (Ardsley, N.Y./Ardsley) connected on a 3-point shot to crack open a 7-point lead, and while the Bengals pulled within four on an old-fashioned 3-point play, the Cardinals closed the game on an 11-5 run to spell the final score.
 
Plattsburgh State limited Buffalo State to just 25.7 percent (18-of-70) shooting from the floor and 23.1 percent (6-of-26) shooting from distance. The Cardinals also forced the Bengals into 25 turnovers. Buffalo State won the rebounding battle by a 54-44 margin, and Plattsburgh State shot 37.7 percent (23-of-61) from the floor on the game.