A 23-point third quarter burst fueled a comeback effort tonight for the SUNY Oneonta women's basketball team, as they opened the 2016-17 campaign with a 47-44 victory at Utica.  Senior Cara Adams (Attleboro, MA/Bishop Feehan) led the Red Dragons with 13 points.
 
Oneonta trailed at halftime 19-14 before outscoring Utica (1-1) 23-6 in the third quarter to grab a 37-25 lead.  A three-pointer by Adams midway through the quarter gave the Red Dragons its first lead of the game at 24-22.  The Pioneers countered with a three of its own on the next possession to retake the lead.
 
Four straight free throws by senior Brianna Spector (Philadelphia, PA/Upper Dublin) and another three from Adams fueled a 13-0 run to close out the quarter for Oneonta, as they seized the momentum heading into the final period.
 
Adams' third trey of the game gave Oneonta its largest lead of the night at 43-30 with just under seven minutes to go in the game.
 
The Pioneers mounted one final push over the final stretch and cut Oneonta's lead to four points with nine seconds remaining on a three by Amanda Henderson.  Oneonta Sophomore Teresa Anken (Rome/Rome Free Academy) made 1-of-2 free throws and Utica's Ashelyne Babb made a layup with one second left for the final score.
 
Freshman Alexa Amalbert (Nanuet/Nanuet) came off the bench to score seven points in her debut leading the Oneonta reserves who outscored Utica's bench 15-7.  The Red Dragons collected 44 rebounds led by sophomore Madeline Frank (Syracuse/Jamesville-Dewitt) and senior Sara DiPasquale (Buffalo, NY/Cardinal O'Hara) who had nine and eight boards respectively.
 
Oneonta will play Clarkson University on Saturday night at 8pm in its opening game of the 2016 Holiday Inn Classic hosted by Hartwick College.