ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The Oneonta women's basketball team began the 2024-25 season with a 58-45 victory over Western Connecticut St. in Dewar Arena, Saturday evening. Senior
Amanda Zuntag (Staten Island, NY/Notre Dame Academy) led the team with 12 points and 10 rebounds for her third career double-double, and junior
Emma Schwarzbeck (Wallkill, NY/Wallkill Senior High School) went 4-for-9 for 11 points with five rebounds. The Red Dragons start the season 1-0 and the Wolves begin 0-1.
The teams traded baskets in the first quarter with Schwarzbeck and sophomore
Carlie Young (Baldwinsville, NY/Baldwinsville Central) draining three-pointers to score Oneonta's first couple baskets. Western Connecticut's Dre'Ana Singleton gave her team the lead at 7:53 and held on until senior
Molly Coyne (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) found senior
Sophia Wakin (Delhi, NY/Delaware Academy) down near the basket to give the Red Dragons a 12-11 edge at 1:58. Singleton made a three-pointer on the next possession to regain the lead for the Wolves, then Coyne scored inside off a pass from freshman
Kendall Mack (Cortland, NY/Cortland) to tie it at 14 heading into the second quarter.
Oneonta's defense locked down Western Connecticut during the second to go on a 22-5 run, limiting them to only one field goal in the quarter for a 36-19 lead at halftime. The Red Dragons had seven different players score during the run as sophomore
Megan Desrats (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley), Schwarzbeck, and Zuntag led the stretch with four points each. Junior
Avery Kenyon (Hammond, NY/Hammond) assisted Schwarzbeck to give themselves a 36-16 lead, their largest lead during the game, with 1:03 left in the first half. Nia Rencher made it a 17-point deficit for the Wolves before the break with a three-point play.
Western Connecticut scored the first seven points of the second half to make a 10-point game at 6:54, then Oneonta closed out the third quarter with a 13-6 run. Zuntag had six points in the quarter and junior
Lidia Boucher (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central High School) capped off the run with a three-point play to put the Red Dragons ahead, 49-32.
Similar to the first, both teams traded baskets for the final 10 minutes. The Wolves trimmed the lead down to 11, 56-45, with 1:23 to go, before senior
Nadia Brown (Troy, NY/Troy) knocked down a jumper for the final basket of the game.
Desrats led the game with six assists and four steals, to go with four points, and Young scored seven points in her first career start. Coyne and Mack both came off the bench for the Red Dragons, Coyne finished with eight points and seven rebounds while Mack tallied three assists in her first collegiate game.
Oneonta shot 46.3 percent from the field, while Western Connecticut shot 31.4 percent, and held a 35-22 rebounding advantage.
The Red Dragons are back in action on Friday, November 15, when they face Rochester in the Oneonta and Hartwick Classic at Hartwick College at 6 pm.
