ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The Oneonta women's basketball team held off Eastern Connecticut State in overtime for a 74-69 victory in the first day of the Oneonta and Hartwick Classic, Friday evening in Dewar Arena. Junior
Carlie Young (Baldwinsville, NY/Baldwinsville Central) shot 10-for-21 from the floor, 3-for-6 from deep, to finish with a career-high 31 points along with 13 rebounds and two steals. Freshman
Addy Eckert (Bloomville, N.Y./South Kortright) also recorded a career-high 12 points in the win as the Red Dragons improved their record to 2-1 overall while the Warriors dropped to 0-4 this season. Young's scoring performance is tied for the sixth-best in program history, tying Anne Donnery (Dec. 14, 1979 vs. Brookyln) and Lyteshia Price (Nov. 17, 2015 vs. Utica).
Young started her night by draining a pair of corner treys in the first quarter, but Eastern Connecticut's Liv Cassesse scored eight points, including a couple of three-pointers herself, to give her team a 14-8 lead at 3:27. Freshman
Tyalia Fret-Thom (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) logged her first collegiate minutes and drilled a three from the top of the key for her first career basket, then freshman
Skye Cameron-Pressley (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) cut to the rim for a layup and cut Oneonta's deficit to one, 14-13, heading into the second quarter.Â
Junior
Maddie Hoy (Canton, NY/Canton Central) gave the Red Dragons their first lead of the game at 9:43 in the second, and Eckert scored in the paint to make it 17-14 at 8:57. Marissa Nudd tied the game with a triple, then Young scored a couple shots down low for a 21-17 edge. Senior
Lidia Boucher (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) and Cameron-Pressley maintained the lead with couple baskets, before Young converted an and-one then laid in another shot to put Oneonta ahead 30-24 with 2:37 in the half. Boucher put the team up seven after she knocked down a triple from the top of the arc, however Nudd recorded a layup in the final seconds to cut Oneonta's lead to five, 33-28, entering the break.
Young and Boucher both fired in a three-pointer to start the third quarter, but Eastern Connecticut answered back with a couple of threes then a jump shot from Nudd to make it 39-36 at 6:03. Oneonta closed out the quarter with a 9-5 stretch, where Young had four points, Eckert scored three, and Desrats had two, and the team went into the fourth with a 48-41 advantage.
Young and Cameron-Pressley cleaned the glass and totaled six second chance points to start the final quarter, however the Warriors chipped away at the lead and trailed 54-50 with 5:32 to play. After sophomore
Kendall Mack (Cortland, NY/Cortland) drained a pair at the line, Desrats cut between several defenders to lay it in for a 58-52 lead with 4:35 to go. Eastern Connecticut used the final few minutes for a 6-0 run and tied the game with 58 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime.
Eckert converted an and-one to start overtime, then the Warriors went on a 9-2 stint to go up 67-63 with 3:16 left. Young and Eckert each drained a pair at the line to tie the game at 67 with 2:31 to go, then Nudd scored to put Eastern Connecticut up two. Oneonta went on a 7-0 run to close out the game for the victory, where Young recorded a three-point play and hit a couple at the line, while Desrats scored inside off a pass from Boucher.
Desrats, Boucher, and Cameron-Pressley all recorded eight points in the win. Desrats also totaled 11 boards, the game-high eight assists and three steals, while Boucher had seven rebounds with four assists, and Cameron-Pressley brought in four rebounds.
Marissa Nudd played every minute and led the Warriors with 24 points and eight rebounds. Cassesse had four three-pointers and finished with 18 points, five assists and three steals.
Oneonta finished with a 50-34 rebounding advantage, a 40-26 edge in points in the paint, and they had 19 second chance points to Eastern Connecticut's eight. The Red Dragons shot 34.6 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from deep, and 73.9 percent (14-for-19) from the line, and the Warriors shot 40.3 percent from the floor, 28.0 from three-point range, and 72.7 percent (8-for-11) from the line.
Oneonta is back in action Saturday, November 22, for the final day of the Oneonta and Hartwick Classic. The Red Dragons will play Hamilton at 4 pm, following the conclusion of Hartwick and Eastern Connecticut State in Dewar Arena.
