ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The Oneonta women's basketball team came up short against Canton in SUNYAC play, 58-50, as they started the 2026 portion of their season in Dewar Arena Tuesday afternoon. The Red Dragons held the lead entering halftime, then the Roos outscored them in the second half, 32-21, to take the conference game. The result moved Oneonta to 5-4 this season, 0-2 in the SUNYAC, and Canton improved to 9-1 overall and 2-1 in conference play.

Junior Megan Desrats (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley), sophomore Kendall Mack (Cortland, NY/Cortland), and freshman Kayla Beaudoin (Brunswick, NY/Tamarac) all scored 11 points. Along with their double-digit performance, Desrats totaled nine rebounds, three steals and two assists, Beaudoin had three assists with two boards, and Mack recorded four rebounds, a steal and a block.

Canton was led by Kat McRobbie with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Hope Aniceto had 15 points with four three-pointers, and Kate Grainger finished with 11 points, 10 boards, and four assists.

"We battled today," said head coach Daphne Thompson. "We continue to grow in adversity!" 

Senior Lidia Boucher (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) converted an and-one to start the game, then the Roos scored 13 unanswered to go up 13-3 at 4:11. Desrats put a stop to the run with a pair of layups then she found freshman Tyalia Fret-Thom (Poughkeepsie, NY/Roy C. Ketcham) for the bucket to pull the Red Dragons within four at 1:57. Fret-Thom split a pair at the line before Mack scored down low to make it a one-point game, however Canton recorded a couple of baskets to make it 17-12 at the end of the first.

Desrats opened the second quarter with a shot in the paint, then she kicked it to Beaudoin for a corner three to tie the game at 9:20. After junior Carlie Young (Baldwinsville, NY/Baldwinsville Central) and Aniceto traded three-pointers, freshman Skye Cameron-Pressley (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle) gave Oneonta a 22-20 lead with 5:47 to play in the second. Freshman Addy Eckert (Bloomville, NY/South Kortright) drained two at the line before Mack converted a three-point play to put the Red Dragons up four with 2:14 left in the quarter. The teams ended the half with a few trips to the line as Boucher knocked down a pair to put Oneonta ahead at the break, 29-26.

Aniceto hit a three-pointer to start a 14-4 Roos run that gave them a 40-33 lead at 4:35 in the third quarter. Cameron-Pressley, Mack, and Desrats all made trips to the line and cut the Red Dragons deficit to three, 40-37, entering the fourth quarter.

Beaudoin recorded Oneonta's first eight points of the final quarter and brought them to within one with 7:33 to play, however Canton did not let go of the lead and built it up to six, 51-45, on a second chance bucket from McRobbie with 5:14 left. Desrats trimmed the lead to four with a pair of free throws, then the Roos scored seven straight points to go up 58-47 with 2:31 to go. Mack made a layup at 2:07 to turn it back into a single-digit game, however the Red Dragons did not score again until there was 20 seconds remaining with a free throw from Young for the final score.

Oneonta shot 26.2 percent from the floor and 80.0 percent (16-for-20) from the free throw line, while Canton shot 31.7 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from three-point range. Both teams finished with 45 rebounds.

The Red Dragons are back in action on Friday, January 9, for a SUNYAC road game against the Mustangs in Morrisville starting at 5:30 pm. Read Full Article