PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's basketball team closed out their regular season with a 53-49 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) senior day win over Fredonia in Memorial Hall. The Cardinals had a balanced offense with three players notching double figures led by sophomore guard Julia Greek (Long Island, N.Y. / Ward Melville) with 12 points, three steals, two rebounds, and two assists.

Plattsburgh celebrated their lone senior in Payton Couture (Redford, N.Y. / Saranac) as she was honored with a pregame ceremony. On her senior day, Couture contributed 11 points, five rebounds, and two assists. First-year guard/forward Kayla Johannesen (Hyde Park, N.Y. / Our Lady of Lourdes) had a solid performance with a career-high 10 points to go with four rebounds and two steals. Imani Walcott (Albany, N.Y. / Albany) poured in seven points and four rebounds while Kathy Peterson-Ross (Lake Forest, Ill. / Lake Forest) led the team in rebounding with six to go with her four points.

For the Blue Devils, Payton Gilbert led all scorers with 16 points while Jayssa Snelick recorded a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Allie Wandell was also in double figures with 10 points while Mary Culeton had a team-high four assists and a double-digit rebound performance with 10.

The Cardinals shot a solid 37.7% from the field but only shot 21.7% from the three and 57.1% from the free throw line while the Blue Devils were very efficient from the free throw line, shooting 80.0% but only shot 27.0% from the field and 21.2% from three. The Blue Devils dominated the boards, outrebounding the Cardinals 49-28 and recording 12 second-chance points to the Cardinals' four. However, the Cardinals' defense forced 19 Fredonia turnovers leading to 21 points off turnovers.

Plattsburgh State finishes their regular season 14-11 (10-8 SUNYAC) and is back in action on Tuesday, Feb. 25 in a SUNYAC First Round matchup when they travel to number four-seeded Canton for a 7 p.m. tip-off. Fredonia concludes their season 8-14 (5-11 SUNYAC) as the Blue Devils have already been eliminated from playoff contention.

Fredonia got the scoring started right away with a three-pointer from Wandell and used another three-pointer from Jaden Sciotti as the Blue Devils took an 11-8 lead at the 4:42 mark. Couture responded with a layup but a 10-0 run for the Blue Devils pushed their lead to 21-10, however, Johannesen closed out the quarter with a layup and made the score 21-12 at the end of the first quarter.

The Cardinals used a 5-0 burst courtesy of Johannesen and cut the Blue Devils lead to six, but the Blue Devils responded with a 5-0 burst of their own and made the score 28-17 at the 4:49 mark. The Cardinals cut the lead to single digits after a layup from Greek and a jumper from Kaelyn Morgan (Chateaugay, N.Y. / Chateaugay Central) made the score 28-21 but five straight from the Blue Devils put them back ahead by double-digits before a three from Johannesen made the score 35-26 at halftime.

After a 6-0 run from Plattsburgh cut Fredonia's lead to six, a 6-0 run from Fredonia pushed the Blue Devils' lead to 46-36 at the 1:49 mark. The Cardinals countered with an 8-0 run to end the quarter led by Couture with four points that made the score 46-44 Blue Devils after three quarters of play.

The first basket of the fourth quarter didn't come until a Walcott layup at the 7:46 mark tied the game at 46 followed by two free throws from Couture that gave the Cardinals a 48-46 lead momentarily at the 4:04 mark. However, a three-pointer from Grace Alexander gave the Blue Devils a 49-48 lead at the 3:26 mark before a jumper from Couture gave the Cardinals a 50-49 lead a minute later. With less than a minute remaining a clutch layup from Greek cushioned the Cardinals' lead to 52-49 and after a missed three from Fredonia led to an intentional foul on Couture with less than 10 seconds remaining. Couture went one of two at the line putting Plattsburgh ahead by two possessions as the Cardinals went on to win 53-49.