NEWBURGH, N.Y. -- The SUNY Oneonta women's basketball team cleaned the glass against Mount Saint Mary College and finished with a plus 21-rebounding margin, but came up short in the end 61-68, Tuesday evening. Senior Meg Nardelli (Wappingers Falls/Roy C. Ketcham) scored a career-high 16 points with four triples, and senior Olivia Dobrovosky (Skaneateles/Skaneateles) recorded her second double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 rebounds. The Red Dragons ended their opening road stint 1-2 as the Knights moved to 2-1 on the season.  

Erin Smith hit an early three to give Mount Saint Mary the first lead of the game and after graduate student Megan Palmatier (Bainbridge/Bainbridge-Guilford) traded buckets with Katie Smith, Dobrovosky and sophomore Nadia Brown (Troy/Troy) made back-to-back shots to give Oneonta a 6-5 lead at 5:44. Following Brown's layup, the Knights had an 11-5 stretch with six points scored by Brianna Gugliemo to put them up six with a minute to go in the quarter. Dobrovosky ended the small run, and the first, with a layup to cut the lead 12-16.

Nardelli and Katie Smith traded baskets to begin the second quarter. Nardelli knocked down a triple to bring it within one before Smith hit two jumpers to make it a five-point lead. Nardelli had the hot hand and drained two more shots beyond the arc to give the Red Dragons a 21-20 lead with 4:38 left in the half. Erin Smith then traded baskets with junior Jenna Harclerode (Sayville/Sayville) before she hit another jumper to retake the lead for the Knights. After a pair of free throws by Smith, junior Molly Stephens (LaGrange/Arlington) ended the half with a jumper to keep Oneonta within one, 25-26.  

The game continued to go back and forth between the teams to start the third. Down three, Nardelli received the ball off an inbound pass and dished it to sophomore Sophia Wakin (Delhi/Delaware Academy) for a layup to make it 31-32 at 6:45. The Knights then went on an 11-2 run, increasing their lead to 10 with 3:01 left in the third. The run was halted by a three from Nardelli, but Kaeli McAnally got the points back with a triple. Cailean Nolan ended the quarter with a pair of free throws, after Dobrovosky tallied a few herself, and gave the Knights a 48-39 lead going into the fourth.  

Mount Saint Mary's made it a double-digit lead for the first couple minutes of the fourth before Harclerode and Dobrovosky cut it to six with 7:07 left. After the Knights scored three more, freshman Emma Schwarzbeck (Wallkill, NY/Wallkill Senior High School) hit a three-pointer then dished the ball to Wakin to make it 53-57 with 5:01 left. Mount Saint Mary brought the lead back to 10 with a couple shots in the paint and a few trips to the line to close out the game.  

Harclerode finished with seven points, 11 rebounds and led the team with six assists. Stephens and Wakin both had eight points and three boards. Along with her double-double, Dobrovosky recorded three assists and steals.  

Kate Hughes led the Knights with 12 points and nine rebounds, and Katie Smith and Guglielmo finished with 11 points.  

Oneonta shot 37.1 percent from the field and gathered 56 rebounds while Mount Saint Mary shot 35.9 percent from the field and brought in 35 rebounds. A difference maker in this game was Oneonta's 19 turnovers to Mount Saint Mary's six, and the Red Dragons were only 4-for-5 from the free throw line while the Knights were 17-26.  

The Red Dragons are back in action for their home opener against Cobleskill on Thursday at 7 pm.  Read Full Article