For nearly three quarters today, the SUNY Oneonta women's basketball team battled valiantly against No. 12 DePauw University in their final game of the two-day St. Petersburg Tournament in Florida.  Unfortunately, the Tigers asserted themselves in the fourth quarter to pull away with a 62-44 win.
 
For the second straight game the sophomore duo of Leanne Corso (Commack/Commack) and Alexa Amalbert (Nanuet/Nanuet) led Oneonta (8-3) in scoring with 11 points each.  Corso, who had three, three-point baskets in yesterday's win against Chatham, made three more today.  She also grabbed seven boards and had a pair of steals.
 
Both squads got off to a sluggish start having their worst shooting quarters of the game.  Oneonta managed only six points in the first quarter and trailed by six points entering the second quarter.
 
An 11-2 run to start the second quarter gave Oneonta its first lead of the game.  Sophomore Olivia Allrich (Ballston Spa/Ballston Spa) and Corso combined for all 11 points including three baskets from behind the arc.
 
The Tigers bounced back with seven unanswered to regain the lead before the Red Dragons countered with five quick points to take its final lead of the game at 22-21.  The Tigers closed the quarter with six straight points to grab a 27-22 lead at halftime.
 
The second half belonged to DePauw (10-1) shooting nearly 50 percent including 6-of-11 from long range to pull away from Oneonta.  A jumper by Corso at 4:56 of the third brought the Red Dragons to within a bucket at 34-32.  But an 11-4 run by the Tigers to close the quarter gave them some breathing room entering the final quarter.
 
Emily Budde led DePauw with 29 points.  The Tigers biggest advantage in the game came off the offensive glass converting 20 offensive rebounds into 17 second chance points.
 
Oneonta will now have a couple of weeks to get ready for its rival SUNY Cortland on Jan. 5 when the schedule resumes for both teams in the SUNYAC.  Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30pm.