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The Oneonta State women's basketball team will be off to Buffalo, N.Y. this weekend to play for an automatic berth to the NCAA Div. III tournament. Buffalo State will be the host for the 2012 SUNYAC tournament championship weekend after earning the No. 1 seed for this year's tournament. The Red Dragons will play in the first semifinal game beginning at 6pm while Buffalo State faces SUNY Cortland in the nightcap beginning at 8pm. The two semifinal winners will meet on Saturday for the conference championship beginning at 4pm.
Oneonta (17-8) will be making its fifth consecutive appearance in the SUNYAC tournament semifinals after advancing past Oswego Tuesday night at home 53-40. The Red Dragons got a lift from the bench in leading them to victory on Tuesday led by sophomore
Alyshia Crawford (Oxford/Oxford), who scored 13 points in 22 minutes off the bench. Overall, the Oneonta reserves held a 25-10 advantage in the game, which helped lead them to the double-digit win.
“It's always a great game with New Paltz,” said 5th-year head coach
Daphne Thompson. “We will have to take care of the ball and make our free throws. We need to have more possessions than they do and keep them off the offensive glass."
The senior duo of
Samantha Szkotak (New York Mills/New York Mills) and
Madison Slagle (Rome/Rome Catholic) has led Oneonta all season long. The two are the only players averaging double figures in scoring at 13.4 points and 11.9 points per game respectively. Szkotak also leads the team in rebounding (6.5 rpg.) and free throws made (57) while Slagle is the team leader in 3-pt. field goals made (37) and free throw percentage (80%).
Entering this weekend, Szkotak is third on the all-time scoring list with 1,216 career points. She needs 73 points to pass No. 3 Paula Polce, who finished her career with 1,278 points. She is currently 6th all-time in rebounding with 592, which makes her only 1-of-3 women's players to score over 1,000 points and grab 500 rebounds. The other two are Polce and Milford, N.Y. native Shannon Weir, who finished with 642 and 521 rebounds respectively. With eight more boards, Szkotak will join Polce as the only women's players to surpass 1,000 points and 600 rebounds.
When her career is finally completed, Slagle will leave the program as one of its greatest long distance shooters all-time. She currently has 908 career points, but has made 125 three-point baskets, which is sitting 6th all-time. She needs just one more to move into a three-way tie at No. 5 all-time.
The backcourt quartet of Crawford and classmates,
Grace Schilling (Northport/Northport),
Kristin Pappalardo (Mahopac/Lakeland) and
Kelly Mulligan (Pearl River/Pearl River), has contributed to the overall success of this year's team. The four have combined to score 552 points, which is an average of just over 22 points per game as a group. Pappalardo leads the team with 51 steals while leading this foursome with 91 rebounds. Schilling is second in both steals (40) and assists (53). Mulligan leads the team with 58 assists while collecting 34 steals. Crawford is the leader of this group with 170 points.
Oneonta leads the SUNYAC in scoring defense (52.9 ppg.) and free throw shooting (71%).
Against the field for this weekend's championship Oneonta split with both Buffalo State and New Paltz while sweeping Cortland during the regular season.
Oneonta has played Buffalo State five times previously in the conference tournament, the last coming in the 2010 quarterfinals, which Oneonta won 71-47. One of the meetings between the two teams came in the 1984 SUNYAC championship game, which Buffalo won 63-62.
This year will mark the third straight year that Oneonta and New Paltz have played in the semifinals of the tournament. In 2010, the Hawks won a four-overtime thriller 82-79. Last year, Oneonta won 71-66. The only other time the two have met was in 2004, which went in favor of Oneonta 69-58.
Oneonta and Cortland have met four times in the tournament with Cortland having won three of the four meetings. The last time the two teams met was in 2008 where Cortland won 67-65. The two have met in the championship game twice with each team winning once. Oneonta won in 2001, 68-63 while Cortland took the 2004 championship game by a score of 50-46.
With a win on Friday, Oneonta will advance into the tournament championship game for a second straight year and sixth time overall. The Red Dragons have won two conference championships, the last coming in 2001.
Thompson added, "This is the first time that we are entering the semifinals having defeated each of the final four teams at least once. We know we are capable and our players have to believe they can win the SUNYAC championship."
