PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – With the Plattsburgh State women's basketball teams' 64-45 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) win over Buffalo State, the Cardinals clinch the fifth seed in the SUNYAC tournament and will travel to Canton on Tuesday, Feb. 25 for a 7 p.m. tip-off. The Cardinals had three players in double figures led by senior guard/forward Payton Couture (Redford, N.Y. / Saranac) with 11 points, nine rebounds, and two assists.

Imani Walcott (Albany, N.Y. / Albany) and Jaden Wilson (Johnstown, N.Y. / Johnstown) both finished the night with 10 points each while Walcott grabbed 11 boards for her eighth double-double of the season. First-year guard Rosie Sculco (Amsterdam, N.Y. / Amsterdam) had nine points to go with two rebounds while first-year guard/forward Kayla Johannesen (Hyde Park, N.Y. / Our Lady of Lourdes) had eight points and two rebounds. Kathy Peterson-Ross (Lake Forest, Ill. / Lake Forest) had a solid performance on the glass with seven rebounds while Julia Greek (Long Island, N.Y. / Ward Melville) had a game-high four assists to go with six rebounds, five points, and two steals.

For the Bengals, Adiya Jones had a game-high 17 points to go with her team-high six rebounds. Chyann Kelly contributed 11 points and Maddy Stearns had a team-high three assists.

The Cardinals had the edge in two of three shooting categories, shooting 33.8% from the field, 26.9% from the three, and 64.7% from the free throw line while the Bengals shot 32.7% from the field 19.0% from the three, and 70.0% from the free throw line. The Cardinals dominated the glass, outrebounding the Bengals 50-29 which led to 14 second-chance points to the Bengals' five. The Cardinals recorded few turnovers on the night and got 13 points off turnovers while the Bengals had nine.

Plattsburgh State rises to 13-11 (9-8 SUNYAC) with the win and next hosts Fredonia tomorrow, Feb. 22 in their regular-season finale at 2 p.m. Before the game, the Cardinals will honor their lone senior Payton Couture. Buffalo State falls to 5-19 (2-15 SUNYAC) and next travels to Potsdam tomorrow, Feb. 22 at 2 p.m.

The Bengals used a 9-0 run that saw three straight three-pointers to jump out to an 11-2 lead at the 4:45 mark in the first quarter, however, the Cardinals ended the run with a three-pointer of their own from Johannesen and made the score 11-5 at the 2:34 mark. The Bengals responded with a layup followed by another three-pointer from Plattsburgh this time from Lauren LaFountain (Saratoga Springs, N.Y. / Saratoga Springs) before another layup from the Bengals at the end of the quarter made the score 15-8 Bengals at the end of the first quarter.

After a three-pointer from Kelly extended the Bengals' lead to double-digits, Plattsburgh went on a 16-0 tear led by Couture with seven points and took a 24-18 lead at the 2:51 mark. A layup from Jones brought the Bengals within four but Plattsburgh ended the second with four straight points that made the score 30-22 at halftime.

The third quarter saw Plattsburgh double the Bengals in points 19-8 as they opened the quarter with a 7-0 burst led by Wilson with five points and extended their lead to double-digits at 37-25 at the 8:03 mark. The Cardinals continued to pour it on and went up by as much as 19 thanks to a jumper from Couture at the 1:46 mark and led 49-30 at the end of the third quarter.

The fourth quarter was even with both teams scoring 15 points each but the Cardinals' lead was too much for the Bengals to come back from. The Bengals used a 6-0 run powered by Mya Brown with four points to cut the Cardinals' lead to 12 and made the score 56-44 at the 4:27 mark but Plattsburgh responded and ultimately ended the fourth quarter on a 5-0 burst to come away with a 64-45 victory.