ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The Oneonta women's basketball team were defeated in the Battle of the Red Dragons against No. 20/22 nationally ranked Cortland, 62-39, Friday evening in Dewar Arena. Junior
Carlie Young (Baldwinsville, NY/Baldwinsville Central) shot 4-for-7 from the floor, 3-for-4 from three-point range, and led Oneonta with 11 points and two rebounds. Freshman
Tyalia Fret-Thom (Poughkeepsie, NY/Roy C. Ketcham) finished with seven points and two boards, while sophomore
Kendall Mack (Cortland, NY/Cortland) recorded six points, four rebounds, and three steals. The result moved Oneonta to 10-9 overall, 5-7 in the SUNYAC, and improved Cortland to 16-2 this season and 11-0 in conference play.
Cortland started the game on a 9-2 run where senior
Lidia Boucher (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) scored Oneonta's lone basket. Young halted the run with a deep trey from the wing, then Fret-Thom drove hard to the rim on the next possession to make it an 11-7 deficit at 2:10. Before the quarter ended, Cortland's Mariah Huss split her attempts at the free throw line to give the visitors a 12-7 edge.
Cortland recorded 10 unanswered points to start the second quarter until Mack drained a three-pointer near the corner to make it 22-10 at 3:23. Freshman
Addy Eckert (Bloomville, NY/South Kortright) scored five of the team's final seven points in the half, while junior
Megan Desrats (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) made a layup, and Oneonta went into the break trailing 31-17.
Oneonta got to within 11 at 5:07 after freshman
Kayla Beaudoin (Brunswick, NY/Tamarac) knocked down a triple, however Cortland ended the quarter on a 12-0 stretch to take a 48-25 advantage. Both teams traded baskets in the final period as Cortland kept the 23-point lead to end the game. Young led Oneonta with five points in the fourth quarter while, Beaudoin, Fret-Thom, and Mack all scored three points.
Oneonta shot 28.9 percent from the floor and 31.3 percent from three-point range. Cortland shot 51.1 percent from the field, 25.0 percent from deep, and finished with a 37-25 rebounding advantage. Cortland was led by Brooke Tillotson with 18 points and five rebounds, while Cadence Nicholas finished with 15 points.
Oneonta is back in action in Dewar Arena on Saturday, January 31, against Morrisville in SUNYAC play at 2 pm.
