NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's basketball team suffered its first State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) loss of the season on Saturday afternoon at the Hawk Center, falling by an 81-41 final to reigning conference champion SUNY New Paltz.
 
New Paltz shot 51.6 percent (32-of-62) from the floor and 71.4 percent (10-of-14) from the free throw line while finishing with a 44-24 edge in rebounds. Fourteen of the Cardinals' 24 boards came on the offensive glass. Plattsburgh State, meanwhile, was limited to an uncharacteristic 21.1 percent (12-of-57) shooting from the floor. Both teams combined to commit 43 turnovers.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 3-4 overall (1-1 SUNYAC) with the loss and closes out the 2019 portion of its schedule on Saturday, Dec. 14, when it entertains Northern Vermont University-Johnson in a non-conference game at 1 p.m. New Paltz rises to 5-1 overall (2-0 SUNYAC) with the win and next takes on Simpson College on Sunday, Dec. 29, at 11 a.m. in Nashville, Tenn., to open up action at the Music City Classic.
 
Sophomore guard/forward Kelly Degnan (Irvington, N.Y./Irvington) converted on a pair of free throws on the Cardinals' first offensive possession of the game, but senior forward Maddie Van Pelt knocked down a 3-pointer less than a minute later to give New Paltz a 3-2 lead, one it would not relinquish the remainder of the afternoon. While the Hawks went on an 18-2 tear to seize a 14-point lead, the Cardinals closed the first quarter on a 6-1 run, and freshman guard Mya Smith (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) pulled the visitors within 19-10 with 38 seconds left in the opening quarter.

New Paltz outscored Plattsburgh State, 24-7, in the second quarter to construct a commanding 43-17 lead heading into the locker rooms. Senior guard/forward Taylor Durnin (Lyon Mountain, N.Y./Northern Adirondack) and freshman forward Hannah Ruberto (Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem East) scored four and three points, respectively, to pace the Cardinals in the stanza.

Plattsburgh State's high-water mark in the third quarter was an 8-0 run that included seven points from junior guard Theresa Quinn (Cromwell, Conn./Cromwell) and one point from freshman forward Misa Dowdell (Far Rockaway, N.Y./Scholars Academy), but the Hawks continued to lead by a comfortable margin and closed out the third quarter with a 64-30 advantage.

New Paltz posted its largest lead of the game (41 points) three times during the fourth quarter and wound up cruising to an 81-41 victory.

Quinn led the Plattsburgh State offense with 10 points in 26 minutes coming off the bench. Degnan paced the Cardinals on the boards with four rebounds, three of which came on the offensive end.

For New Paltz, Van Pelt, senior guard Marion Dietz and freshman guard Olivia Badura scored 21, 16 and 14 points, respectively, while freshman guard/forward Maddie Gillis pulled down 11 rebounds and dished out eight assists.