ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The Oneonta women's basketball team fell to Plattsburgh State in SUNYAC play, 62-55, Saturday afternoon in Dewar Arena. The teams were tied at halftime then Plattsburgh used the third quarter to build a 19-point lead. Oneonta got to within six points with under a minute to play but were held off in the final seconds. The Red Dragons moved to 10-12 on the season, 7-8 in SUNYAC play, and the Cardinals improved to 12-9 overall and 8-6 in the conference.
Senior
Emma Schwarzbeck (Wallkill, NY/Wallkill Senior High School) shot 5-for-11 from the field, 2-for-4 from deep, and led the team with 16 points. Senior
Amanda Zuntag (Staten Island, NY/Notre Dame Academy) finished with 15 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks for her eighth double-double of the season, the 10th of her career.
Plattsburgh went up 10-3 then senior
Nadia Brown (Troy, NY/Troy) drove to the rim for a couple baskets to pull Oneonta within three at 2:17 in the first. Jaden Wilson scored the final basket of the quarter to give the Cardinals a 12-7 lead going into the second. After splitting a pair at the line, Zuntag made it a two-point deficit, 16-14, off a putback with 5:00 left in the half. Sophomore
Megan Desrats (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) went the length of the court for a layup then she kicked it to senior
Molly Coyne (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) at the top of the arc for a midrange jumper that went off the glass and in to tie the game at 20 entering halftime.
Scwarzbeck converted an and-one to give the Red Dragons a 23-22 lead at 8:09 in the third, however the Cardinals ended the quarter with a 24-4 run to go up 46-27. Plattsburgh got up to a 22-point advantage with 7:48 to play until Oneonta powered a 19-4 stretch to make it 55-48 with 2:46 remaining. Schwarzbeck led the run with eight points while Zuntag and freshman
Nai Torres (Putnam Valley, NY/Putnam Valley) each had five. The Cardinals got their lead back up to 11 with a couple trips to the line with 1:42 left. The Red Dragons brought it back to within six with a fastbreak pull up jumper from Brown and a few free throws from Zuntag and Schwarzbeck, but the Cardinals' Kayla Johannesen scored a layup to put the game away.
Brown recorded nine points, six rebounds and two steals. Torres finished with seven points and two assists, and Desrats totaled five steals with four points and four rebounds. Wilson led the Cardinals with 21 points and six rebounds, and Payton Couture added 14 points and five boards.
Plattsburgh shot 36.0 percent from the floor and had a 45-39 rebounding advantage. Oneonta shot 26.0 percent from the field and held a 16-4 advantage in points off turnovers.
Prior to the start of the game the Red Dragons recognized and celebrated the careers of six of their players for Senior Day. Those honored were
Nadia Brown (Troy, NY/Troy),
Alana Batson (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro),
Molly Coyne (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee),
Emma Schwarzbeck (Wallkill, NY/Wallkill Senior High School),
Sophia Wakin (Delhi, NY/Delaware Academy), and
Amanda Zuntag (Staten Island, NY/Notre Dame Academy).
Oneonta is back in action on Friday, February 14, for the Battle of the Red Dragons in Cortland at 5:30 pm.
