A tough shooting night coupled with a solid performance from the visitors turned into a 66-53 loss for the SUNY Oneonta women's basketball team today against Brockport.  The setback for the Red Dragons put them at 13-10 overall and 10-6 in the SUNYAC while the Golden Eagles left town 8-15 overall and 7-9 in conference play keeping their playoff hopes alive.
 
Oneonta already clinched their playoff spot last weekend.  The Red Dragons will finish the regular season next weekend at home with games against Potsdam and Plattsburgh.  Oneonta will be playing for a bye in the first round if they can get into the No. 2 spot.  The tournament begins on Tuesday, Feb. 21 with opening round games.
 
Oneonta grabbed an 8-5 lead after the opening quarter of play as both teams struggled to find a groove offensively.
 
The game turned in favor of the Golden Eagles in the second period when senior Faith Welch made a layup to give them a 10-9 lead.  Welch's basket was part of an 11-0 run that fueled a 20-11 quarter and a 25-19 lead at halftime.  Welch finished the game with 18 points.
 
Midway through the third quarter, Oneonta scored eight unanswered points to get back to within three points at 31-28.  Senior Kathryn Polletta (Ossining/Ossining) capped the run by burying one of her three shots from behind the arc in the game.  Polletta came off the bench to score a career high 13 points.
 
Brockport reasserted itself over the final 3:19 of the third period with a 13-6 burst that gave them 46-37 lead heading to the final period.
 
The Red Dragons were never able to get on track in the fourth period, as the Golden Eagles countered each basket securing the 13-point victory with the final five points of the game.
 
Freshman Alexa Amalbert (Nanuet/Nanuet) joined Polletta with 13 points today for Oneonta.
 
The Golden Eagles were led by freshman Olivia Lebaron, who came off the bench to score 25 points that included 7-of-7 from the free throw line.