ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The SUNY Oneonta women's basketball team held on for a 59-55 SUNYAC win over Geneseo, Friday evening. Both teams battled throughtout the game but a late fourth quarter run by the Red Dragons helped secure the win and improve to 9-11 on the season, 7-6 in SUNYAC, while the Knights dropped to 15-6 overall and 10-4 in conference. Senior
Molly Stephens (LaGrange, NY/Arlington) had the team-high 15 points with five rebounds and five assists, and senior
Jenna Harclerode (Sayville, NY/Sayville) finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
Geneseo jumped out to a 12-6 lead until sophomore
Emma Schwarzbeck (Wallkill, NY/Wallkill Senior High School) drained a trey at 4:48 to make it a three-point game. The Red Dragons tied it 13 at 2:30 after Stephens drove hard to the basket for a layup and junior
Molly Coyne (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) recovered an offensive rebound for a putback. Geneseo regained a three-point lead, however Oneonta cut it to one, 16-15, at the end of the first when junior
Sophia Wakin (Delhi, NY/Delaware Academy) scored an open shot on the right post.
Harclerode hit a jumper at the elbow to give the Red Dragons their first lead of the game at 9:05, however Kerry Dennin regained the lead momentarily for the Knights with a jumper on the next possession. Oneonta answered with an 11-2 stretch to pull ahead 28-20 with 2:51 to play in the half. Junior
Amanda Zuntag (Staten Island, NY/Notre Dame Academy) sparked the run with a midrange jump shot, Stephens scored on a putback, then freshman
Megan Desrats (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) received a pass down in the paint from Harclerode for a hook shot. Schwarzbeck hit another triple at the top of the arc before she found Wakin inside for a turnaround jumper that gave the Red Dragons their eight-point lead. The Knights closed out the half with a free throw from Dennin and a shot by Eva Elliot to cut the deficit to 28-23.
After Harclerode extended the lead to seven, Geneseo tied the game, 30-30, at 7:24. Kiley Snow made a three-pointer at 3:39 to give the Knights a 38-36 lead. Stephens hit a shot inside the wing to tie the game, though Geneseo scored six unanswered after, to go up 44-38. Junior
Nadia Brown (Troy, NY/Troy) knocked down a triple at the end of the third to trim the lead to 44-41.
Oneonta gained the lead when Zuntag scored a basket from the corner then Harclerode made an and-one. Snow knotted the game at 46 with 6:41 to go, however Harclerode converted another three-point play which sparked a 10-2 run that ended when Brown hit a pair of free throws to put the Red Dragons up, 56-48, with 3:10 to go. The Knights brought the game to within three in the closing minutes, but Stephens and Scwarzbeck knocked down a few shots at the line to hold on to the win.
Wakin had eight points and four rebounds off the bench, Schwarzbeck ended with seven points and three assists, and Desrats recorded five assists and a pair of steals.
Dennin had a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Knights, and Snow finished with 17 points.
Oneonta shot 43.6 percent from the floor and held a slight edge in rebounding, 31-30, while Geneseo shot 36.7 percent.
The Red Dragons are back in action Saturday, February 3, against Brockport at 2 pm in Dewar Arena.
