PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's basketball team fell, 77-38, to defending State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) champion SUNY New Paltz in conference action on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Hall.
 
First-year forward Payton Couture (Redford, N.Y./Saranac) led the Cardinals with 12 points and five rebounds, while sophomore forward Caitlin Kolesar (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds in 20 minutes coming off the bench.
 
For New Paltz, junior guard Lexi Van Vorst poured in a game-high 22 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the floor, 6-of-13 shooting from 3-point range and 4-of-6 shooting from the line. Junior guard Graci Serravillo netted 10 points and added five assists, while junior forward Semaiah Williams grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked six shots.
 
New Paltz shot 34.8 percent (24-of-69) from the floor, 32.4 percent (11-of-34) from distance and 72 percent (18-of-25) from the charity stripe, while Plattsburgh State also shot well on free throws, going 19-of-25 (76 percent) from the line. The Hawks finished with a 49-41 edge in rebounds and forced the Cardinals into 29 turnovers, scoring 25 points off those giveaways.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 3-5 overall (0-3 SUNYAC) with the loss and closes out the fall semester with a 5:30 p.m. game against non-conference Middlebury College on Wednesday, Dec. 8. New Paltz rises to 6-2 overall (2-1 SUNYAC) with the win and next competes at the Smith College Holiday Tournament from Dec. 30-31, opening up with the Rochester Institute of Technology on Thursday, Dec. 30, at 3 p.m.
 
The Cardinals fired the opening salvo, scoring each of the first five points of the game. Junior forward Misa Dowdell (Far Rockaway, N.Y./Scholars Academy) converted on a put-back layup on Plattsburgh State's opening possession, while Couture drained a 3-pointer 1:07 later. New Paltz went on a 7-2 run to tie the game, and a made free throw by senior guard Brittani Campbell (Rochester, N.Y./Edison Tech) on the Cardinals' next possession gave Plattsburgh State an 8-7 advantage, which wound up being its last of the game. The two teams traded points until a 3-pointer by sophomore guard/forward Madison Mullman with six seconds left in the first gave New Paltz an 18-13 edge.
 
Sophomore guard Brinley Inglee (Hudson Falls, N.Y./Hudson Falls) hit a pair of free throws on Plattsburgh State's first possession of the second quarter, while senior forward Kelly Degnan (Irvington, N.Y./Irvington) buried a jumper to draw the Cardinals within one at 18-17. New Paltz broke the game open with 15 unanswered points, and after Couture ended the Hawks' tear with a layup, New Paltz's Van Vorst hit a 3-pointer and junior guard/forward Maddie Gillis made two free throws to give the Hawks a 38-19 halftime lead.
 
Dowdell made a free throw to score the first points of the second half, but the Hawks scored eight straight points to take a 46-20 lead. While New Paltz eventually ballooned the differential to 31 points in the third quarter, junior guard Mya Smith (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) closed out the stanza with a pair of made free throws to cut the gap to 60-31 heading into the final quarter.
 
Junior forward Hannah Ruberto (Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem East) and junior guard Kanesha Strider (Long Island, N.Y./Longwood) each made a free throw in the opening 32 seconds of the fourth quarter, but New Paltz cruised down the stretch in the final period, taking its largest lead of the game (39 points) twice in the final 2:12.