PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Senior guard/forward Taylor Durnin (Lyon Mountain, N.Y./Northern Adirondack) scored a team-high 10 points and added six rebounds and three assists, but the Plattsburgh State women's basketball team fell to State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC)-leading SUNY New Paltz, 73-45, in conference action on Friday evening at Memorial Hall.
 
New Paltz forced Plattsburgh State into 24 turnovers while shooting 39.1 percent (27-of-69) from the floor for the game. The Hawks also held a 49-35 advantage in rebounds. The Cardinals shot 31.3 percent (15-of-48) from the field and moved the ball well, earning 12 assists on those 15 made field goals.
 
Beyond Durnin, junior guard Hanna Whitney (Keene, N.Y./Keene Central) tallied eight points in 27 minutes coming off the bench.
 
For New Paltz, three players reached double figures, led by senior forward Maddie Van Pelt's game-high 15 points. Freshman guards Olivia Badura and Lexi Van Vorst added 11 points apiece, with Van Vorst's coming in 20 minutes of reserve action.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 7-17 overall (4-13 SUNYAC) with the loss and hosts SUNY Oneonta at 2 p.m. tomorrow on Senior Day. Prior to the start of the game, which will be Plattsburgh State's final contest of the season, the Cardinals will honor their three student-athletes who are graduating this spring: senior forward Taylor Clare (Peekskill, N.Y./Peekskill), Durnin and sophomore guard Ly'rell Walker (Yonkers, N.Y./Roosevelt). New Paltz rises to 21-3 overall (16-1 SUNYAC) with the victory and stretches its winning streak to 10. The Hawks visit SUNY Potsdam tomorrow at 2 p.m.
 
The Cardinals played the Hawks tight in the first quarter, as Durnin countered a 3-pointer by senior guard Marion Dietz with a trey of her own to tie the score at 3-all. Midway through the stanza, freshman guard/forward Maddie Gillis cashed in on a layup for New Paltz before Whitney knotted the tally at 5-all with a made jumper on Plattsburgh State's next possession. The two teams traded points until the Hawks closed the quarter on a 4-0 run to take a 12-7 lead through 10 minutes of play.
 
While the Hawks twice took a 10-point lead in the second quarter, junior guard Theresa Quinn (Cromwell, Conn./Cromwell) and Durnin each made a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 26-20. Van Vorst drained a 3-pointer for New Paltz before Walker scored on a layup with three seconds left to pull Plattsburgh State within 29-22 heading into the locker rooms.
 
Plattsburgh State kept up with New Paltz in a high-octane start to the third quarter, with sophomore guard/forward Kelly Degnan (Irvington, N.Y./Irvington) and sophomore guard Kayla Doody (Troy, N.Y./Tamarac) countering a layup and a 3-pointer, respectively, to keep the Cardinals within seven. Six unanswered Hawk points swelled the advantage to 13 points, and New Paltz led by double digits the remainder of the evening. Dietz's jumper with seven seconds left staked the Hawks to a 50-34 advantage through three quarters.
 
New Paltz hit its offensive stride in the fourth quarter, outscoring Plattsburgh State by a 23-11 margin in the final stanza. While New Paltz's freshman guard Cassidy Deaver made a layup to give the Hawks a 52-34 lead, freshman guard Mya Smith (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) made two free throws to trim the gap back to 16. New Paltz wound up leading by as many as 28 points down the stretch, however, relying on strong contributions from its bench.