The SUNY Oneonta women's basketball team rallied late to overcome a first half deficit in edging the visiting Buffalo State Bengals 54-53.  The win for the Red Dragons was its third straight and raises its overall record to 10-4 and 6-1 in the SUNYAC.  The loss for the Bengals dropped them to 6-10 overall and 2-5 in conference play.
 
Senior Lyteshia Price (Liverpool/Liverpool) led three players in double figures with 16 points.  Classmate Bryn Loomis (Norwich/Norwich) added 12 points and junior Cara Adams (Attleboro, MA/Bishop Feehan) contributed 11 points.
 
With the score tied at six apiece midway through the opening quarter, the Bengals put together a 12-5 run to closeout the quarter to take an 18-11 lead after one.  Keyonte Edwards scored six of her 15 points in the quarter to pace the Bengals.
 
Oneonta battled all the way back to tie the score at 24 apiece when Adams drilled a three-pointer with just over two minutes to go in the second quarter.
 
The Bengals scored the last four points of the second quarter to grab a 28-24 lead at halftime.  Edwards and Britt Perry each scored nine points to lead the Bengals through the first twenty minutes of play.
 
Oneonta fell behind by eight points early in the third quarter before scoring nine unanswered to take a 33-32 lead.  Loomis converted an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Red Dragons its lead.
 
The two teams took turns with the lead for the remaining five minutes before a couple of free throws by Adams knotted the score at 39-39 entering the fourth quarter.
 
The two teams battled basket-for-basket through the opening four minutes of the fourth quarter before baskets by Jordan Yastremski and Krystal Watson gave the Bengals a four-point lead with six minutes to go in the game.
 
A three-pointer by freshman Teresa Anken (Rome/Rome Free Academy) and a three-point play by Price erased the deficit and put Oneonta ahead 47-45 just over one-minute later.
 
The Bengals countered with six unanswered to grab the lead back at 51-47 with 2:29 remaining in the contest.
 
Oneonta still trailed by four points with less than two minutes to go when Price and Adams made back-to-back layups to tie the game at 53 apiece.  Adams missed the accompanying free throw that came with her layup and the Bengals controlled the rebound.
 
On the ensuing Buffalo State possession, Perry missed a layup and Price gained the rebound and got the ball to Samantha Lisikatos (Cold Spring/Haldane) who was fouled.  Lisikatos made the first free throw, but missed the second one and the rebound went to the Bengals with three seconds left.  The Bengals were unable to generate an opportunity as time ran out.
 
Perry led the Bengals with 16 points.  Buffalo State held a 42-30 advantage off the glass, but turned the ball over 27 times in the game.
 
Tomorrow afternoon Oneonta will host Fredonia at 2pm in a matchup between the two top teams in the SUNYAC standings.