ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The conference opener was constant back-and-forth play with 15 lead changes, however New Paltz closed it out scoring the final eight points and went on to defeat the SUNY Oneonta women's basketball team 53-50, Tuesday evening. Senior Meg Nardelli (Wappingers Falls/Roy C. Ketcham) and junior Jenna Harclerode (Sayville/Sayville) each recorded nine points as the Red Dragons moved to 3-3 overall and 0-1 in the SUNYAC while the Hawks improved to 4-3 in the season and 1-0 in conference.   

The teams traded baskets to start the game with New Paltz finding the deep ball early. Sophomore Amanda Zuntag (Staten Island/Notre Dame Academy) and Harclerode hit the first couple baskets for Oneonta but were answered each time by a Jenny Walton three-pointer. Nardelli tied the game at six after she stole the ball and made a jumper on the fastbreak before Morgan Hammell hit a triple to give New Paltz a 9-6 lead with 2:58 in the quarter. After Nardelli traded layups with Maddie Gillis, Graci Serravillo converted an and-one to put the Hawks up six. On one of the final possessions of the quarter, Nardelli hit a triple off the pass from freshman Emma Schwarzbeck (Wallkill, NY/Wallkill Senior High School) and Oneonta trailed only 11-14.  

Still down three in the middle of the second, Nardelli made a jumper and was followed up by a jumper from Zuntag to give the Red Dragons a 17-16 lead with 4:20 left in the half. Harclerode drilled two free throws to push the lead to three, only for Lexi Van Vorst to tie it at 19 with a shot from beyond the arc. After graduate student Megan Palmatier (Bainbridge/Bainbridge-Guilford) split a pair of free throws, Brianna Fitzgerald drove in for a layup, and a one-point New Paltz lead, with 2:36 remaining. Each team ended the half with a layup and a pair of free throws as the Hawks went into halftime with a 25-24 lead.  

Serravillo and Gillis hit a jumper to start the third quarter, extending New Paltz's lead to five, but it was brought back to two when sophomore Nadia Brown (Troy/Troy) made a couple trips to the line and made three free throws. Walton made a layup at 4:42 after Abby Korzekwinski's basket to put the Hawks back up six, 33-27, however the Red Dragons retaliated with an 8-0 run. Senior Olivia Dobrovosky (Skaneateles/Skaneateles) started the stretch with a free throw before freshman Lidia Boucher (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central High School) and junior Molly Stephens (LaGrange/Arlington) scored a couple layups. Schwarzbeck capped the stretch with a triple to give Oneonta a 35-33 lead with 1:02 in the third. Fitzgerald made a couple free throws for the Hawks before the quarter ended and the teams went into the fourth tied at 35.   

Oneonta opened the fourth with Stephens dishing it to Harclerode for a layup. Stephens then hit a couple free throws to extend the lead to four. The lead was short-lived as New Paltz made a couple shots to tie it at 39 with 7:54 left. On the next possession, Brown drove in for a layup to regain the lead, but Van Vorst later hit a three to make it a one-point game in favor of New Paltz. After Stephens scored on a fastbreak, Gillis made a three-pointer to put the Hawks up two with 5:46 to play. Doborvosky and Harclerode answered back and pieced together a 7-0 run to give Oneonta a 50-45 lead with 2:07 left. Gillis made a layup then stole the ball and found Fitzgerald for a layup, narrowing the lead to one at 1:07. Coming out of a timeout with 26 seconds left, the Hawks ran a play and found Van Vorst with eight seconds left for a layup and one-point lead. On the other side of the court, the Red Dragons ran an inbound play where they found Zuntag for a catch-and-shoot on the elbow but could not get it to fall. The Hawks made a couple free throws before the clock expired.  

Along with their nine points, Nardelli recorded four rebounds and a steal, while Harclerode tallied four assists, a steal, and a block. Zuntag finished with eight points and four rebounds, and Brown tallied seven points and four boards.  

Gillis led New Paltz with 11 points, and Fitzgerald finished with 10 points and six rebounds.  

Oneonta shot 37.5 percent from the field while New Paltz shot 35.8 percent. The Hawks had the edge in rebounding, 34-33.  

The Red Dragons are back in action Friday when they host Plattsburgh State at 5:30 pm.  Read Full Article