The SUNY Oneonta women's basketball team made the most of its holiday trip to Puerto Rico this past weekend by picking up a pair of victories in the San Juan Shootout.  The Red Dragons defeated both Salisbury University and Mount Holyoke College to run its season record to 7-2 overall.

In the opening game of the trip, senior Alyshia Crawford (Oxford/Oxford) hit a three-pointer as time expired to lift Oneonta to a 54-53 victory over Salisbury.

With three seconds remaining, Oneonta had to inbound the ball under its own basket after a pair of made free throws by Anna Hackett of Salisbury gave them a 53-51 lead.  The ball was inbounded by senior Kelly Mulligan (Pearl River/Pearl River), who connected on a pass to Crawford, who then gave a pump fake and got the shot off with a defender on her.

"It was a great game leading down to the final seconds," said Crawford.  "We were fortunate enough to have a good play ready at the end of the game and our execution was flawless.  I'm just happy I was a able to sink the shot for the win."

A Bryn Loomis (Norwich/Norwich) jumper put the Red Dragons ahead 49-46 with 4:44 left to go in the contest.  Hackett made a jumper for Salisbury to cut the score back to 49-48 at the 2:50 mark before senior Grace Schilling (Northport/Northport) converted a jumper on Oneonta's ensuing possession to push the lead back to three points with 2:07 remaining.

Hackett then buried a three-pointer with 30 seconds left to tie the game at 51 apiece.  An Oneonta turnover gave Salisbury the ball back with 18 seconds to go.  Out of the timeout, the Red Dragons committed back-to-back fouls to put Hackett at the line where she made her two free throws.

Crawford led Oneonta with 18 points.  Sophomore Lyteshia Price (Liverpool/Liverpool) scored nine points while grabbing a team high nine boards.

Oneonta trailed 28-24 at the break.  The Red Dragons largest lead in the first half was six points at 13-7 when Price made a free throw to complete a three-point play.  Oneonta opened up an eight-point lead in the second half with a 12-4 run that broke a 32-32 tie.

Against Mount Holyoke, Oneonta trailed 7-6 early before taking the lead for good with a 13-5 run midway through the first half.  Oneonta took its 32-22 halftime lead and quickly built it to a 22-point lead with the first 10 points of the second half.  The Red Dragons cruised easily from there to a 64-43 win.

"Our defense today was what won us the game," stated Crawford.  "We were able to create opportunities to score in transition. It was nice to have everyone get onto the court."

Schilling led all scorers in the game with 16 points.  Crawford added eight points and a career high 12 rebounds.  As a team, Oneonta collected 63 rebounds in the game including 20 on the offensive glass.

Crawford concluded, "The trip to Puerto Rico was incredible and we are fortunate to have the opportunity to not only be here but to play in a tournament.  Returning home with a pair of wins will definitely help us going back into conference play."

Oneonta will play its first game of 2014 on Tuesday, Jan. 7 at home against Oswego beginning at 6pm.

Coach Daphne Thompson said, "I'm proud of the team for maintaining their composure amidst the distractions and adversity that comes with travel and playing in a new environment!"