PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's basketball team aimed to even the season series with New Paltz but fell 56-44 in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play on Friday night at Memorial Hall, despite a strong second-half push. Senior forward Imani Walcott (Albany, N.Y. / Albany) led the way for the Cardinals with 11 points, eight rebounds, a block, and a steal.

Junior guard Rosie Sculco (Amsterdam, N.Y. / Amsterdam) supported the offense with 10 points and added two rebounds and two steals. Sophomore forward Kaelyn Morgan (Chateaugay, N.Y. / Chateaugay Central) had a presence on the boards, leading the team in rebounds with eight to go with three points. Senior guard Jaden Wilson (Johnstown, N.Y. / Johnstown) chipped in six points and three rebounds.

For the Hawks, Kayden Cornell led all scorers with 17 points to go with six rebounds. Brianna Fitzgerald netted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Karly Wittenbauer finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Plattsburgh shot 32.7 percent from the floor but struggled from long range at 15.4 percent, while New Paltz finished at 24.6 percent overall and 21.6 percent from beyond the arc, hitting eight three pointers. The Hawks also held the advantage over the Cardinals in rebounds (44-37), second-chance points (12-6), and points off turnovers (17-3).

Despite scoring the first points of the quarter, the Cardinals struggled early as New Paltz built a 16-1 lead with 3:32 remaining. A Sculco three-point play ended the run, and a Julia Greek (Long Island, N.Y. / Ward Melville) layup closed the scoring as Plattsburgh trailed 18-6 going into the second quarter.

The Hawks opened up another run before Morgan got Plattsburgh on the board and made the score 23-7 at the 7:08 mark. A quick four-point rally capped by a Scuclo triple brought the score to 28-13, and the Cardinals went into halftime down 33-15.

Out of the break, the Cardinal got going as Greek and Walcott netted back-to-back layups, and later a layup from Meredith Bush (Gouverneur, N.Y. / Gouverneur) made the score 38-21 with 6:20 to play. Plattsburgh's offense started to gain some momentum as the Cardinals closed the third quarter on a 6-0 rally and entered the final quarter trailing 45-31.

The fourth quarter saw Plattsburgh outscore New Paltz and cut the deficit to as low as 54-44 after a triple from Wilson and a layup from Walcott made the score 54-44 with 2:10 left. However, the deficit proved too large to overcome as the Cardinals ultimately fell 56-44.

With the loss, Plattsburgh State drops to 14-10 (9-8 SUNYAC) and will host Oneonta tomorrow, Feb. 21, for a 2 p.m. tip-off, with Senior Day celebrations taking place five minutes before tip-off.