ONEONTA, N.Y. – After a slow second half the Plattsburgh State women's basketball team falls to Oneonta in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play. The Cardinals were led by Imani Walcott (Albany, N.Y. / Albany) who had 13 points and 17 rebounds which set a new career high for the sophomore forward and gave her another double-double for the season, totalling to four. Walcott also dished out two assists, had 2 blocks, and grabbed one steal. 
 
Payton Couture (Redford, N.Y. / Saranac) and Mya Smith (Wappingers Falls, N.Y. / Wappingers) both contributed to the scoring effort with 12 points and 10 points respectively. Couture added two assists and one block and Smith had three rebounds, two assists, and one block.  Selma Deisz (Bekkestua, Norway / Nadderud VGS) and Kathy Peterson-Ross (Lake Forest, Ill. / Lake Forest) were impactful in the rebounding game as they had seven and five rebounds respectively. Peterson-Ross had six points to go along with her rebounds while Deisz had five and two assists. 
 
For the Red Dragons, Amanda Zuntag and Sophia Wakin both led the team with 13 points. Molly Stephens was also in double figures with 12 points. 
 
Plattsburgh shot a solid 38.0% while Oneonta shot a little better at 39.7% but got help from the three-point line as they made 6 of 19 at 31.6% and the Cardinals 2 of 15 at 13.3%. The rebounding battle was close as the Red Dragons had the slight edge 40-37. The Cardinals lost the turnover battle 20-7 and only got six points off turnover compared to the Red Dragons 20. The bench for the Red Dragons was a factor as they had 28 while the Cardinals only got 4 from their bench. 
 
Plattsburgh moves to 6-8 overall (3-5 SUNYAC) and are back in action tomorrow, Jan. 20 at 2 pm as they continue on the road for a matchup against New Paltz. Oneonta moves to 5-9 overall (3-4 SUNYAC) and are back in action tomorrow as they host Potsdam with a 2 pm tip-off. 
 
The Cardinals controlled the first quarter as they took the lead and didn't give it back. Walcott got the Cardinals on the board with two layups in a row followed by two layups from Couture as the Cardinals opened the quarter with an 8-0 run. Stephens finally got the Red Dragons on the board with a three that made the score 8-3 Cardinals with over seven minutes to play. The Cardinals went on another run as they scored seven straight points with a three from Deisz and two layups from Walcott that made the score 15-5 Cardinals with over three minutes to play. The Red Dragons closed the quarter with four straight points and made the score 15-9 Cardinals after one. 
 
The Red Dragons outscored the Cardinals 21-12 as they took their first lead of the game in the second. Emma Schwarzbeck opened the second with a jumper followed by a Stephens jumper and Jenna Harclerode jumper as they scored six straight points that tied the score at 15. Couture got the Cardinals on the board with a made free throw. With over seven minutes to play, both teams exchanged threes as Alana Batson made a three that gave the Red Dragons their first lead momentarily before Smith made a three that made the score 19-18 and gave the Cardinals back the lead. At the the 5:53 mark, Batson made another three that gave the Red Dragons the lead which they kept for the rest of the quarter. With less than two minutes Deisz cut the Red Dragon lead to one but Wakin made a layup and the quarter ended 30-27 Red Dragons. 
 
Peterson-Ross opened the third quarter with a jumper as Zuntag responded with a layup. The Red Dragons scored four straight before Smith made a layup that made the score 36-31 Red Dragons with less than eight minutes to play. The Cardinals scored four straight before a Zuntag jumper that made the score 40-36 Red Dragons with less than five minutes to play. The Cardinals cut the lead to two on a Couture layup before Wakin made a layup that pushed it back to four. The Red Dragons closed the third with six straight that stretched their lead and made the score 51-42 Red Dragons after three. 
 
The fourth quarter was when the Red Dragons stretched their lead and pulled away. Zuntag opened the quarter with a jumper that stretched the Red Dragons lead to double figures. Couture got the Cardinals on the board with a free throw that made the score 54-43 with less than nine minutes to play. The Cardinals went scoreless for a few minutes until Peterson-Ross got them on the board with a jumper that made the score 61-45 Red Dragons with over five minutes to play. The Cardinals only scored five more points as the Red Dragons pulled away to win 70-50.