PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's basketball team outscored SUNY Geneseo, 40-31, in the second half, but the Cardinals were unable to overcome a 21-point halftime deficit in a 66-54 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) loss to the Knights on Friday evening at Memorial Hall.
 
Sophomore guard Ly'rell Walker (Yonkers, N.Y./Roosevelt) led the Cardinals with 15 points and nine rebounds, while senior forward Taylor Clare (Peekskill, N.Y./Peekskill) posted a double-double with a season-high 12 points and 10 boards. Senior guard/forward Taylor Durnin (Lyon Mountain, N.Y./Northern Adirondack) finished with three assists and two steals, while freshman guard Mya Smith (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) scored a career-high nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from 3-point range.
 
The Cardinals took care of the ball, committing just 11 turnovers versus the 18 committed by the Knights. Geneseo shot 41 percent (25-of-61) from the floor and 84.6 percent (11-of-13) from the line while holding a 47-38 edge in rebounds.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 4-6 overall (1-2 SUNYAC) with the loss and hosts The College at Brockport tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. Geneseo rises to 9-1 overall (2-1 SUNYAC) with the win and visits SUNY Potsdam tomorrow at 2 p.m.
 
While Geneseo jumped out to an early 6-2 lead, Smith cut the gap to 6-5 after draining a 3-pointer with 7:10 left in the first quarter. The Knights surged ahead with an 18-4 run, which junior guard Hanna Whitney (Keene, N.Y./Keene Central) and junior guard Theresa Quinn (Cromwell, Conn./Cromwell) broke up with a 3-pointer and a layup on back-to-back possessions late in the quarter. Geneseo led, 24-14 after one quarter of play.
 
The Knights held the Cardinals scoreless in the second quarter, draining 11 points of their own to build a 35-14 advantage heading into the locker rooms.
 
Plattsburgh State began a comeback bid midway through the third quarter, and an old-fashioned 3-point play by Clare drew the Cardinals within 39-25. Junior guard Lindsay Halpin scored five points in 30 seconds for Geneseo to swell the lead back to 19, but a jumper by Walker and a layup by Durnin whittled the deficit to 44-29 with 2:03 to play in the third. The Knights scored the final five points of the frame to carry a 49-29 cushion into the final quarter.
 
The Cardinals netted 25 points in the fourth quarter, the most either team put up in a single quarter all game, but they were unable to complete the comeback. A modest 5-0 tear capped off by a Walker jumper made it a 13-point game (53-40), and Durnin cut the deficit to 13 points late in the fourth quarter (62-49 – 1:23 remaining) on a free throw to provide two of the Cardinals' high-water marks of the period. Clare's jumper with 13 seconds left that sealed off a four-point Plattsburgh State run decreased the differential to 12 points, which was the closest the Cardinals had gotten since the beginning of the second quarter.
 
Geneseo's offense was led by junior forward Kerrin Montgomery, freshman forward Lauren Romito and Halpin, who scored 17, 13 and 10 points, respectively. Romito completed the double-double with 10 rebounds.