PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. -- The Oneonta women's basketball team was tied with less than four minutes to play in their regular season finale to Plattsburgh before the Cardinals went on a quick run for a 53-48 decision in SUNYAC play Saturday afternoon. The Red Dragons finished the regular season with an overall record of 14-11, 9-9 in the SUNYAC, while the Cardinals ended their regular season 15-10 overall and 10-8 in conference play.  

With the results from the other conference games on Saturday, Oneonta clinched a spot in the SUNYAC Tournament, which is set to begin on Tuesday, February 21. The Red Dragons earned the six-seed in the tournament and will travel to three-seeded Canton for their first-round matchup. 

"A competitive conference battle that had tournament feel," said Head Coach Daphne Thompson. "Our women fought hard and showed determination till the end. Would go into battle with these women any day." 

Senior Lidia Boucher (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) scored the team-high 13 points with six rebounds and five steals. Freshman Kayla Beaudoin (Brunswick, NY/Tamarac) shot 4-for-10 from the floor to finish with 11 points, five boards, and three assists, and junior Carlie Young (Baldwinsville, NY/Baldwinsville Central) recorded eight points, seven rebounds and four assists.  

The first period was a defensive showdown between the teams as Oneonta went into the second with a 5-4 edge. During the quarter, Young recovered an offensive board and kicked it out to Boucher for a mid-range jumper, then sophomore Leela Guobadia (Farmingdale, NY/Farmingdale) split a pair at the free throw line before freshman Tyalia Fret-Thom (Poughkeepsie, NY/Roy C. Ketcham) got the ball in the corner and drove the baseline for a layup to put the Red Dragons up one.  

After junior Megan Desrats (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) found Guobadia open in the paint to put Oneonta up two, Plattsburgh scored nine straight points to take a 16-9 lead with 1:52 to play in the half. The Red Dragons closed out the half on a 6-3 stint with two buckets from Boucher and a mid-range jumper off the glass from sophomore Kendall Mack (Cortland, NY/Cortland) to trim the Cardinals lead to 19-15.  

Oneonta ignited a 10-0 run to start the third quarter to go up 25-19 at 6:35. Freshman Addy Eckert (Bloomville, NY/South Kortright) started the stretch with a second chance basket, then Boucher drained a trey from the wing. Young dribbled past her defender and hard to the rim, then Beaudoin fired in a three from the top of the arc to put the team up six. Beaudoin knocked down another deep triple then she assisted Mack on a three-pointer to extend the lead to eight at 2:31. The Cardinals ended the quarter on a 7-2 run to trail the Red Dragons 38-35.  

Beaudoin recorded five points in the fourth quarter and put Oneonta back up seven with 8:35 to play. After the Red Dragon freshman split two at the line, the Cardinals scored nine unanswered points for a 50-43 advantage with 53 seconds left. Oneonta made it a three-point game with 15 seconds left after Young hit a three and Boucher scored from the elbow, however Plattsburgh scored two at the line for the final score.  

Oneonta shot 27.0 percent from the field while they finished with a 9-2 margin in points off turnovers and 7-5 in second chance points. Plattsburgh shot 28.3 percent from the floor, 32.0 percent from three and finished with a 50-49 edge in rebounds. The Cardinals ended the game 11-for-16 (68.8 percent) from the free throw line, while the Red Dragons went 2-for-6 (33.3 percent). Plattsburgh was led by Desiree DuBois with 15 points and six rebounds, and Imani Walcott with nine points and 15 rebounds.   

The first round matchup between Oneonta and Canton will start at 7 pm on Tuesday in Canton. Plattsburgh will host Oswego in the other first round contest, and the winners of each game will advance to the semifinals. Either New Paltz or Cortland (to be determined on Monday) will host both semifinal games on Friday (Feb. 27) and the championship game on Saturday (Feb. 28).  Read Full Article