PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's basketball team resumed State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play on Thursday evening at Memorial Hall, dropping an 81-48 decision to conference-leading SUNY Cortland.
 
The Cardinals shot 33.3 percent (19-of-57) from the floor, while the Red Dragons shot at a 43.3 percent (29-of-67) clip, including a 41.7 percent (10-of-24) mark from 3-point range. Cortland also shot 92.9 percent (13-of-14) from the line and held a 48-30 edge in rebounds while scoring 27 points off 21 Cardinal turnovers.
 
Junior forward Hannah Ruberto (Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem East) and junior guard Kanesha Strider (Long Island, N.Y./Longwood) paced Plattsburgh State with seven points each coming off the bench, while senior guard Kayla Doody (Troy, N.Y./Tamarac) and Ruberto each handed out three assists.
 
For Cortland, junior forward Maggie Malone netted 22 points, while junior guard Sarah Tully, sophomore guard Abby McCoy and graduate student guard Shannon McGuire added 16, 11 and 10 points, respectively, with McCoy's total coming in 21 minutes coming off the bench.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 3-8 overall (0-4 SUNYAC) with the loss and next hosts Oswego State tomorrow at 2 p.m. Cortland rises to 9-2 overall (5-0 SUNYAC) with the win and visits SUNY Potsdam tomorrow at 2 p.m.
 
Cortland never trailed in the contest, scoring the first six points of the game before Doody put the Cardinals on the board with a 3-pointer midway through the first quarter. The Red Dragons outscored Plattsburgh State, 12-2, down the stretch in the first, taking an 18-5 advantage through 10 minutes of play.
 
While the Red Dragons eventually opened up a 32-point lead with 3:15 left in the second quarter, Plattsburgh State cut the gap to 27 after a layup by senior guard Brittani Campbell (Rochester, N.Y./Edison Tech) capped off a 4-0 spurt. McCoy drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Cortland a 48-18 advantage heading into the locker rooms.
 
Cortland led by as many as 45 in the third—its largest margin of the game—but Plattsburgh State scored the final five points of the quarter, relying on a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Brinley Inglee (Hudson Falls, N.Y./Hudson Falls) and a pair of Ruberto free throws.
 
Plattsburgh State outscored Cortland, 23-16 in the fourth quarter, and a layup by sophomore forward Caitlin Kolesar (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) with 1:24 left whittled the gap to 31, the closest the Cardinals had gotten the entire second half. Cortland's junior guard Fiona Mullen made a layup with 1:11 left to spell the 81-48 final score.