ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The SUNY Oneonta women's basketball team shut down Plattsburgh State's offense, limiting them to 21.4 percent from the field, as the Red Dragons defeated the Cardinals 55-34, Friday evening. Senior
Meg Nardelli (Wappingers Falls/Roy C. Ketcham) had the game-high 13 points and went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.
Senior
Olivia Dobrovosky (Skaneateles/Skaneateles) and junior
Jenna Harclerode (Sayville/Sayville) scored the first eight points for Oneonta (4-3, 1-1 SUNYAC). Tied at eight with 3:33 left in the first, Nardelli and junior
Molly Stephens (LaGrange/Arlington) closed out the quarter with an 8-2 run. Nardelli started off with a pair of free throws and after Plattsburgh's (3-4, 0-2 SUNYAC) Imani Walcott made a layup, Nardelli answered back with a triple. Stephens ended the first with a drive to the baseline and converted an and-one to give the Red Dragons a 16-10 lead.
At 8:24 in the second, Harclerode stole the ball from Mya Smith and dished it to Dobrovosky to extend Oneonta's lead to double-digits, 23-12. The following Cardinal's possession, Izzy Wilbur hit a three, to bring the deficit back to within single digits, however sophomore
Amanda Zuntag (Staten Island/Notre Dame Academy) nailed a couple free throws to go up 10. For the remaining 7:32 of the first half, both defenses shut down the other's offense, allowing one basket a side. Plattsburgh's Payton Couture hit a jumper, and later a free throw, while Harclerode made a layup to put Oneonta up 27-18 at half.
The Red Dragons opened the third quarter with a 7-0 run and put themselves up 16 three minutes in. Nardelli hit a triple to begin the stretch, Dobrovosky made a couple free throws, and sophomore
Nadia Brown (Troy/Troy) drove in for a layup. Hannah Ruberto ended the run with a layup, but Oneonta's momentum continued throughout the third and with 1:43 left in the quarter freshman
Lidia Boucher (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central High School) hit a long three to make the lead 20. Graduate student
Clara Culeton (Oswego/Oswego) ended the third trading baskets with Kortney McCarthy, and the Red Dragons went into the fourth up 44-24.
After Harclerode hit two from the charity stripe, senior
Elizabeth Thompson (Morris/Morris) hit a jumper to give Oneonta a 24-point lead, their biggest lead of the night with 6:26 left. Cardinal's Koree Stillwell made a three-pointer on the next possession, but it was not enough as sophomores
Alana Batson's (Whitesboro/Whitesboro) jumper,
Molly Coyne's (Syracuse/West Genesee) triple, and
Sophia Wakin's (Delhi/Delaware Academy) layup kept the Red Dragons lead over 20 points to the end.
Harclerode finished with 10 points and eight rebounds, while Dobrovosky ended with nine points, 10 rebounds, and two steals.
The Red Dragons out rebounded the Cardinals 56-35 and converted more points off turnovers (15-4).
Oneonta is back in action Saturday when they host Potsdam at 2 pm.
