CORTLAND, N.Y. -- The SUNY Oneonta women's basketball team was defeated in a tough conference battle between Red Dragon rival, SUNY Cortland, 51-47, Friday evening. Senior Olivia Dobrovosky (Skaneateles/Skaneateles) had the game-high 19 points with six rebounds and senior Meg Nardelli (Wappingers Falls/Roy C. Ketcham) finished with 14, going 4-for-8 from three-point range. Oneonta moved to 14-6 on the season and 9-4 in the SUNYAC, while Cortland is now 18-3 overall and 13-1 in the conference.

Nardelli hit a three-pointer from the wing and Dobrovosky made a jumper to keep the game tied at five through the first two minutes of play. Cortland gave themselves a 9-5 lead with 3:55 left in the period, however junior Molly Stephens (LaGrange/Arlington) tied it up with a triple and a free throw two minutes later. After Nyia Longford made a jumper, graduate student Clara Culeton (Oswego/Oswego) found junior Jenna Harclerode (Sayville/Sayville) who cut into the paint to lay it in, tying the game at 11 heading into the second.  

Nardelli gave Oneonta the lead with an off-balanced underhand layup to start the second, before Cortland went on an 8-0 run where Sarah Tully scored six points to put Cortland up six with five minutes left in the half. Dobrovosky scored the game's next five points to bring Oneonta within one, then Harclerode gained the lead with a pair of free throws at 2:45. The lead changed five more times before the half ended. With 32 seconds remaining Nardelli hit a triple, but Brooke Tillotson made a layup with a second left to give Cortland a 28-27 advantage.   

Cortland had an 8-2 run to start the third quarter to go up seven, however Oneonta closed the gap back to one with an 8-2 stretch of their own. Down seven, Dobrovosky hit a pair at the line and a jumper while sophomore Amanda Zuntag (Staten Island/Notre Dame Academy) made a layup. After Emily Morano scored in the paint, Stephens hit a jumper to keep it a one-point game with 1:51 left in the third. Tully and Longford ended the period with a couple layups for Cortland to go up five, 42-37.

Cortland attempted to put the game away early in the fourth, but Nardelli kept Oneonta in the game with the deep ball, scoring her fourth three-pointer with 5:18 left to make it a 43-49 deficit. At 4:05, Dobrovosky stole the ball and hit a deep two to bring Oneonta within four. Both teams stepped it up defensively and held one another scoreless for the next three minutes. Dobrovosky broke the scoreless drought and drove to the lane to make it a two-point game with 34 seconds left. Oneonta had to commit three fouls until they got Longford to the line where she converted both to give the game the final 51-47.  

Harclerode had the game-high 14 rebounds while Culeton had five steals.  

Longford led Cortland with 18 points and a couple steals, and Tully had a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double.  

Oneonta shot 29.4 percent from the field, 38.5 percent from three, and grabbed 36 rebounds. Cortland shot 37.7 percent from the field, 14.3 percent from deep, and brought in 35 boards.  

Oneonta returns to action Saturday at Oswego State at 2 pm.  Read Full Article