Senior Alyshia Crawford (Oxford/Oxford) scored a game high 21 points to lead the SUNY Oneonta women's basketball team to a convincing, 70-54, win against first place Buffalo State.  The Red Dragons bounced back strong after its loss last night to Fredonia, as their win moved them closer to securing a spot in the SUNYAC tournament with three games remaining in the regular season.

Oneonta's (16-6/10-5 SUNYAC) stifling defense held Buffalo State (17-4/12-2) to 32 percent shooting while forcing 21 turnovers.  Those turnovers led to 18 points for the Red Dragons.  The Oneonta bench also outscored the Bengals' reserves 14-9 led by senior Kelly Mulligan (Pearl River/Pearl River), who scored a season high 10 points off the bench.

Oneonta pulled away early in the second half and never let the Bengals back into the contest.  Leading 28-26 at the break, the Red Dragons scored the first 17 points of the second half to take a commanding 45-26 lead with 13:12 remaining.  A three-point basket by freshman Cara Adams (Attleboro, MA/Bishop Feehan) capped the run.

Buffalo State made one final push and cut the Oneonta lead to nine points on a three-pointer by senior Staci McElroy.  The basket cam at the 9:49 mark and made the score 47-38.

A layup by junior Sarah Longto (Kingston/Kingston) on the next Oneonta possession started a run of eight unanswered points that put the game out of reach for the Bengals.  Longto finished the contest with eight points and eight rebounds.

Senior Grace Schilling (Northport/Northport) contributed 15 points while collecting five steals.  Sophomore Lyteshia Price (Liverpool/Liverpool) recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 boards.

Senior Kala Crawford led Buffalo State with 18 points to go with eight boards.  Junior Ashley Wallace scored nine points and collected 11 rebounds.

Oneonta will play next this coming Friday night, as they play its final regular season home game against New Paltz beginning at 6pm.  The game will also celebrate the WBCA PinkZone in support of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.  Those in attendance are asked to show your support for cancer awareness and research by wearing pink.

Newspaper Box Score
SUNY ONEONTA 70, BUFFALO STATE 54

BUFFALO STATE (17-4/12-2 SUNYAC)
CRAWFORD, Kala 6-12 6-11 18; WALLACE, Ashley 3-5 3-4 9; NORRIS, Mariah 4-12 0-1 8; McELROY, Staci 3-9 0-2 8; LUCIANI, Olivia 3-11 0-0 8; SMILEY, Bianca 0-4 2-2 2; KOLLAR, Hillary 0-1 1-2 1; YASTREMSKI, Jordan 0-1 0-0 0; KELL, Kelly 0-0 0-0 0; MATIAS, Clarisa 0-0 0-0 0; CAIN, Mary 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 19-58 12-22 54.

SUNY ONEONTA (16-6/10-5 SUNYAC)
CRAWFORD, Alyshia 6-12 5-5 21; SCHILLING, Grace 3-10 9-15 15; PRICE, Lyteshia 4-10 2-2 10; MULLIGAN, Kelly 2-4 5-9 10; LONGTO, Sarah 3-10 2-4 8; ADAMS, Cara 1-2 0-0 3; LOOMIS, Bryn 0-5 2-3 2; DiPASQUALE, Sara 0-3 1-2 1; PONESSE, Kaitlyn 0-0 0-0 0; SPECTOR, Brianna 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-56 26-40 70.

3-point goals--Buffalo State 4-13 (McELROY, Staci 2-3; LUCIANI, Olivia 2-8; NORRIS, Mariah 0-1; KOLLAR, Hillary 0-1), SUNY Oneonta 6-12 (CRAWFORD, Alyshia 4-7; MULLIGAN, Kelly 1-2; ADAMS, Cara 1-2; LOOMIS, Bryn 0-1).
Fouled out--Buffalo State-McELROY, Staci; CAIN, Mary; WALLACE, Ashley, SUNY Oneonta-None. Rebounds--Buffalo State 47 (WALLACE, Ashley 11), SUNY Oneonta 42 (PRICE, Lyteshia 12).
Assists--Buffalo State 7 (NORRIS, Mariah 2; KELL, Kelly 2; LUCIANI, Olivia 2), SUNY Oneonta 10 (MULLIGAN, Kelly 4).
Total fouls--Buffalo State 30, SUNY Oneonta 18.
Technical fouls—Buffalo State-None, SUNY Oneonta-None.
A-370