CORTLAND, N.Y. – First-year forward Payton Couture (Redford, N.Y./Saranac) scored 14 points and added seven rebounds, but the Plattsburgh State women's basketball team fell to conference-leading SUNY Cortland, 81-45, in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action Friday evening at Corey Gym.
 
The Cardinals shot 29.8 percent (17-of-57) from the floor, while the Red Dragons were 41.4 percent (29-of-70) from the field and 85.7 percent (12-of-14) from the line. Cortland finished with a 45-37 edge in rebounds and scored 27 points off 21 Cardinal turnovers.
 
Cortland placed four players in double figures, led by graduate student guard Shannon McGuire, who netted 18 points. Junior forward Maggie Malone, sophomore forward Corinne Miedreich and junior forward Nyia Longford scored 16, 12 and 10 points, respectively, with Miedreich's total coming in 25 minutes off the bench.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 5-14 overall (2-10 SUNYAC) with the loss and next visits Oswego State tomorrow at 2 p.m. Cortland rises to 16-2 overall (12-0 SUNYAC) with the win and hosts SUNY Potsdam tomorrow at 2 p.m.
 
Cortland scored the first 18 points of the game before Couture nailed a 3-pointer to put Plattsburgh State on the board. The Red Dragons led, 27-5, after one quarter of play.
 
Plattsburgh State outscored Cortland, 19-12, in the second quarter. After the Red Dragons opened up a 20-point lead, the Cardinals scored nine unanswered points, and a layup by junior forward Misa Dowdell (Far Rockaway, N.Y./Scholars Academy) with 2:37 left in the second quarter drew Plattsburgh State within 11. The momentum seesawed back and forth before the Red Dragons scored the final four points of the half to enter the locker rooms with a 39-24 lead.
 
A jumper by Couture and a layup by junior forward Hannah Ruberto (Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem East) trimmed the gap to 11 midway through the third quarter, but Cortland scored 10 straight points to balloon its advantage to 21. The Red Dragons took a 55-31 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
Junior guard Mya Smith (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) countered McGuire's layup with a trey to open up the fourth quarter, but Cortland continued to pull away, with junior forward Tatiana Stevens nailing a jumper with 17 seconds left to give the home team a 36-point edge, its largest of the game.