SUNY Oneonta junior Kristin Pappalardo (Mahopac/Lakeland) scored a season high 23 points including 14-of-16 from the free throw line in leading the host Red Dragons to a 74-70 win over rival SUNY Cortland in SUNYAC action.  Pappalardo scored 18 points in the second half while hitting 10-of-12 free throws over the final 1:05 of the contest.

Oneonta (7-9/4-5 SUNYAC) had to overcome a seven point halftime deficit to earn tonight's win.  A Pappalardo steal and bucket at the 6:26 mark put Oneonta ahead to stay.  The hosts built themselves an eight point lead on a pair of free throws by junior Grace Schilling (Northport/Northport).

Prior to Pappalardo's basket, the two teams exchanged the lead six times over a span of five minutes.

Cortland (6-9/4-5 SUNYAC) kept battling back despite falling behind by eight points.  With 18 seconds left, junior Megan Touhey made a layup to cut Oneonta's lead back to one point at 69-68.  Cortland had a chance to tie the score at 72, but missed a layup with two seconds on the clock.

Junior Alyshia Crawford (Oxford/Oxford) equaled her career best game tonight with 21 points. Crawford scored 21 points this past Saturday in a victory against Plattsburgh and matched it tonight, as Oneonta picked up its first win at home this season.  Oneonta has moved back into the thick of the playoff race after its first go-around in conference play.

Cortland had four players in double figures led by Touhey's 19 points.  Lindsey Minor added 12 points while Caysea Cohen and Oneonta native Erin Wostenholme each scored 10 points.

After taking a 3-0 lead to start the game, Oneonta found themselves down 15-5 six minutes later after a free throw by Caysea Cohen.  The 10-point lead was the largest of the first half for the visitors.

Freshman Bryn Loomis (Norwich/Norwich) hit a three-pointer for Oneonta to end the first half, which cut Cortland's lead to 30-23 at the break.  Loomis led Oneonta with eight first half points.

Oneonta will take to the road this weekend where they will play at SUNY Geneseo on Friday night and Brockport on Saturday afternoon.

Newspaper Box Score
SUNY ONEONTA 74, SUNY CORTLAND 70

SUNY CORTLAND (6-9/4-5 SUNYAC)
TOUHEY, Megan 8-15 1-2 19; MINOR, Lindsey 5-9 0-0 12; COHEN, Caysea 2-14 5-5 10; WOLSTENHOLME, Erin 4-7 0-0 10; RANDO, Brittany 2-8 2-2 8; SHINE, Sarah 4-6 0-0 8; WILLIAMSON, Grace 1-5 1-2 3; DeMARCO, Brooke 0-0 0-0 0; CRAFT, Renee 0-0 0-2 0; SEGER, Sarah 0-2 0-0 0; WHITE, Shannon 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-68 9-13 70.

SUNY ONEONTA (7-9/4-5 SUNYAC)
PAPPALARDO, Kristin 4-10 14-16 23; CRAWFORD, Alyshia 7-12 3-3 21; LOOMIS, Bryn 3-7 1-2 8; SCHILLING, Grace 3-6 2-4 8; PRICE, Lyteshia 2-10 3-5 7; MULLIGAN, Kelly 2-6 1-2 5; LONGTO, Sarah 1-3 0-0 2; BRODHEAD, Shamari 0-0 0-0 0; CARISEO, Caitlin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-54 24-32 74.

3-point goals--SUNY Cortland 9-29 (TOUHEY, Megan 2-4; MINOR, Lindsey 2-3; RANDO, Brittany 2-8; WOLSTENHOLME, Erin 2-4; COHEN, Caysea 1-8; SEGER, Sarah 0-1; WHITE, Shannon 0-1), SUNY Oneonta 6-16 (CRAWFORD, Alyshia 4-6; LOOMIS, Bryn 1-2; PAPPALARDO, Kristin 1-5; PRICE, Lyteshia 0-2; SCHILLING, Grace 0-1).
Fouled out--SUNY Cortland-None, SUNY Oneonta-None.
Rebounds—SUNY Cortland 45 (WOLSTENHOLME, Erin 9), SUNY Oneonta 34 (LONGTO, Sarah 9).
Assists--SUNY Cortland 13 (COHEN, Caysea 6), SUNY Oneonta 15 (PAPPALARDO, Kristin 7).
Total fouls--SUNY Cortland 20, SUNY Oneonta 13.
Technical fouls--SUNY Cortland-None, SUNY Oneonta-None.
A-460