NEW PALTZ, N.Y. -- The SUNY Oneonta women's basketball team dropped their SUNYAC match on the road to New Paltz, 72-52, Saturday afternoon. Senior
Molly Stephens (LaGrange, NY/Arlington) came off the bench and shot 7-for-16 from the field and co-led the game-high 16 points. The result moved the Red Dragons to 2-8 on the season and 0-3 in the SUNYAC while the Hawks improved to 8-2 overall and 3-0 in the conference.
Junior
Amanda Zuntag (Staten Island, NY/Notre Dame Academy) recorded Oneonta's first eight points of the contest before sophomore
Emma Schwarzbeck (Wallkill, NY/Wallkill Senior High School) hit a triple to give them an 11-9 edge at 5:23. New Paltz then went on an 11-2 run to go up seven, however junior
Molly Coyne (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) made a pair at the line and Stephens hit a couple jump shots to pull the Red Dragons back to within one with 53 seconds left. After Jenny Walton made a mid-range shot for New Paltz, junior
Sophia Wakin (Delhi, NY/Delaware Academy) scored off a pass from junior
Nadia Brown (Troy, NY/Troy) at the end of the quarter for Oneonta to trail 21-22.
The Hawks started the second quarter on a 16-0 stretch until Brown dished it to Wakin again for a layup with 2:11 left in the half. Wakin split a couple trips at the line in the closing minutes to go into the half down 25-38.
New Paltz maintained their double-digit lead during the third. Down 18, Stephens and Brown closed out the last couple minutes of the quarter with a 7-0 run to pull Oneonta within 11, 42-53, heading into the fourth. The Red Dragons could not cut the lead to single digits as both teams traded baskets throughout the final 10 minutes and the Hawks held on.
Zuntag finished with 10 points and brought in six rebounds, while Wakin had eight points with four boards. Schwarzbeck ended with seven points and five rebounds, and Brown tallied six points to go with the team-high five assists.
New Paltz shot 40.9 percent from the field and held a 47-30 advantage on the glass. Oneonta shot 38.2 percent from the floor.
The Red Dragons are back in action Tuesday as they host Oswego State at 5:30 pm in Dewar Arena.
