A Quick Look
The SUNY Oneonta women's basketball team picked up a huge win tonight against its rival SUNY Cortland keeping their playoff hopes alive.  The hosts held back a late comeback effort to take a 69-64 victory.
 
The Inside Story
Oneonta carried a 52-39 lead into the final quarter when Cortland began its push.  Senior Beth Bonin led the charge for Cortland scoring 10 points during a 16-5 run in the first 5:39 of the quarter.  Bonin led all scorers in the game with 25 points.
 
The reserves for Oneonta played a big role in tonight's win outscoring Cortland's bench 33-5.  Senior Leanne Corso (Commack/Commack) and junior Maya Bernsley (Monroe/Monroe Woodbury) reached double figures off the bench with 13 and 12 points respectively.  Freshman Margaret Nardelli (Wappingers Falls/Roy C. Ketcham) added eight points in seven minutes including two three-pointers.
 
Bernsley got Oneonta back on track with a pair of free throws to push the lead back to four points at the 3:47 mark.  Senior Olivia Allrich (Ballston Spa/Ballston Spa) followed with a layup on the next possession to put the hosts ahead 61-55 with 3:07 remaining.
 
After Cortland pulled to within a bucket at 61-59, senior Casey Hayes (New Hyde Park/Sewanhaka) hit a short jumper and then blocked a shot on the other end with under one minute to go.  Hayes blocked another shot with 46 seconds left that essentially secured the win.  Despite Bonin's effort to bring Cortland back, Oneonta was 6-for-6 from the free throw line during the final stretch.
 
Cortland jumped out to a 5-0, 7-2 and 11-6 lead in the opening quarter before Oneonta settled in.  The host Red Dragons closed the first quarter with seven unanswered to grab a 13-11 lead entering the second quarter.  A pair of layups from Corso and Allrich sandwiched a three-pointer by Nardelli accounted for Oneonta's points.
 
Oneonta continued its run scoring the first five points of the second quarter to take a 18-11 lead.  The hosts were able to sustain its momentum withstanding a couple of mini runs during the period.  Another 7-0 run pushed its lead to 25-16 and then a three-pointer by Corso gave Oneonta a 32-22 lead at halftime.
 
Just the Stats
Oneonta controlled the boards 51-45 led by Corso's 13 rebounds.  Corso total also made her the 11^th player in women's basketball history to eclipse 600 rebounds.
 
Allrich was the top scorer tonight for Oneonta with 17 points.  Junior Clara Culeton (Oswego/Oswego) contributed 12 points and eight boards.
 
What's Next
The women will travel west this weekend for back-to-back SUNYAC games versus Buffalo State and Fredonia.