ONEONTA, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's basketball team forced SUNY Oneonta into 21 turnovers, as the Cardinals upended the Red Dragons, 62-56, in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) opener for both teams on Friday evening at Dewar Arena.
 
It marked Plattsburgh State's first win over Oneonta since Dec. 6, 2014, and its first victory over the Red Dragons at Dewar Arena since Jan. 18, 2014.
 
While Oneonta shot 40.4 percent (21-of-52) from the floor and finished with a 44-35 edge in rebounds, the Cardinals committed just 11 turnovers to the Red Dragons' 21. Plattsburgh State shot 36.1 percent (22-of-61) from the field and 30 percent (6-of-30) from 3-point range.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 3-3 overall (1-0 SUNYAC) with the win and visits defending SUNYAC champion SUNY New Paltz tomorrow at 2 p.m. Oneonta slips to 2-4 overall (0-1 SUNYAC) with the loss and hosts SUNY Potsdam tomorrow at 2 p.m.
 
The two teams traded baskets in the early going before a six-point Plattsburgh State tear that included four points from sophomore guard/forward Kelly Degnan (Irvington, N.Y./Irvington) staked the Cardinals to a 15-10 lead. From that point forward, Plattsburgh State never trailed. Oneonta tied the game at 17-all with 20 seconds left in the first quarter on a 3-pointer by freshman guard Margaret Nardelli, but junior guard Theresa Quinn (Cromwell, Conn./Cromwell) responded with a trey right before the buzzer to hand Plattsburgh State a 20-17 cushion through one quarter of play.
 
Oneonta stayed within a possession until back-to-back baskets by senior forward Taylor Clare (Peekskill, N.Y./Peekskill) and freshman guard Mya Smith (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) swelled the advantage to 25-20, but a 5-0 Red Dragon run tied the game at 25-all. Quinn accounted for all eight of the Cardinals' points in an 8-2 tear to push the lead out to 33-27, and after Nardelli hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 33-30, sophomore guard Kayla Doody (Troy, N.Y./Tamarac) found twine from beyond the arc and sophomore guard Ly'rell Walker (Yonkers, N.Y./Roosevelt) scored on a layup to provide the halftime score of 38-30.
 
Plattsburgh State held a multiple-possession lead until a 5-0 Red Dragon surge made it a 42-39 score with 6:41 left in the third quarter. After each team made a 2-point basket, the Cardinals broke the game open with 10 unanswered points. Senior guard/forward Taylor Durnin (Lyon Mountain, N.Y./Northern Adirondack) capped off the run with a free throw four seconds before the end of the third quarter to hand Plattsburgh State a 54-41 advantage, its largest of the game.
 
The Red Dragons started to chip away at the lead, beginning with a made layup by senior center/forward Casey Hayes to open up the fourth quarter. That wound up being the start of a 7-0 run, and a layup by freshman guard Olivia Dobrovosky brought the home team within six points (54-48). Oneonta twice whittled the deficit to five points down the stretch, but it was unable to bring the game within a possession, as the Cardinals held on for an important conference road victory.
 
Quinn's 14 points off the bench led the Cardinals' offense, and she added three steals. Durnin poured in 12 points and chipped in four rebounds and three steals, while Degnan stuffed the box score with nine points, six rebounds and three steals.

For Oneonta, Hayes scored a game-high 16 points, while senior forward/guard Leanne Corso pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds in 27 minutes coming off the bench. Senior guard Olivia Allrich dished out six assists to help run the Red Dragon attack.