ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The SUNY Oneonta women's basketball team held the lead for most of the first half in the Battle of the Red Dragons, but a solid second half from Cortland was the deciding factor as they won 67-47, Tuesday evening. Senior
Molly Stephens (LaGrange, NY/Arlington) led Oneonta with 15 points and two steals, while Cortland's Logan Streety had 16 points and 13 rebounds. Oneonta moved to 4-9 overall, 2-4 in the SUNYAC, and Cortland improved to 10-4 and 6-1 in the conference.
Oneonta went ahead 12-2 within the first three minutes of play. Senior
Jenna Harclerode (Sayville, NY/Sayville) scored the first basket and converted an and-one shortly after, Stephens knocked down a triple, and junior
Amanda Zuntag (Staten Island, NY/Notre Dame Academy) hit a couple shots for the 10-point lead at 7:07. Cortland answered back with a 12-2 stretch of their own to tie the game 14-14 at 1:19. Oneonta closed out the quarter with a three-pointer from sophomore
Emma Schwarzbeck (Wallkill, NY/Wallkill Senior High School) and a putback by Zuntag for a 19-14 lead.
Zuntag and Stephens traded baskets with a couple Cortland players to start the second before Harclerode scored inside the paint on straight possessions to put Oneonta ahead 28-21 with 6:44 left in the half. Stephens and Zuntag ended the half scoring Oneonta's final seven points, however Streety hit a jumper with 48 seconds left to give Cortland a 36-35 edge heading into the break, their first lead of the game.
Cortland extended their lead to 16 with a 16-1 run to start the third quarter. Stephens drilled a three-pointer to stop the run with 42 seconds remaining, but Streety made a layup to put Cortland ahead 54-39 going into the fourth.
Junior
Nadia Brown (Troy, NY/Troy) hit a trey with 8:45 left to pull Oneonta within 12, though Cortland held onto the lead and slowly built it to the 67-47 final.
Zuntag finished with 11 points and five rebounds, Harclerode ended with nine points and seven rebounds, and Brown had seven points and four assists.
Cortland shot 51.9 percent from the field and held a 32-30 rebounding advantage while Oneonta shot 32.1 percent from the floor.
Oneonta returns to action Friday in a SUNYAC matchup against Plattsburgh State at 5:30 pm in Dewar Arena.
