ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The Oneonta women's basketball outscored Buffalo State 41-26 in the second half to defeat their SUNYAC opponent, 67-50, Saturday afternoon. Senior Lidia Boucher (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) led the team with 14 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and five steals. Freshman Addy Eckert (Bloomville, NY/South Kortright) controlled the glass and brought in a career-high 13 rebounds, seven offensive, along with 13 points for her second double-double of the season. The win brings the Red Dragons to 13-9 this season, 8-7 against SUNYAC opponents, while the Bengals fall to 3-17 overall and 2-11 in conference play.

Before tip-off and throughout the day, the team celebrated and recognized the careers of their seniors for Senior Day. Those honored were Lidia Boucher (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) and Kira Myers, the Red Dragons team manager.

"Our discipline in the second half was a great step forward," Head Coach Daphne Thompson commented. "The group is coming together and 'trusting the process'." 

Buffalo State held the lead early until junior Megan Desrats (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) banked in a triple from the wing to go up 8-7 at 5:04. A couple possessions later, freshman Tyalia Fret-Thom (Poughkeepsie, NY/Roy C. Ketcham) drove into the lane for a layup, however the Bengals closed out the quarter a three and a midrange jumper to give themselves a 14-10 edge. 

Midway through the second quarter, Eckert scored two buckets inside the paint during a 7-0 stretch to put the Red Dragons ahead 17-16 at 5:50. After Buffalo State regained the lead, Oneonta went on another 7-0 run with a trio of jump shots from Eckert, sophomore Kendall Mack (Cortland, NY/Cortland) and freshman Skye Cameron-Pressley (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle) for a 26-23 lead with 36 seconds left in the half. Buffalo State ended the period with a split trip to the line from Mya Brown to cut their deficit to two.

After trading baskets to start the third quarter, freshman Kayla Beaudoin (Brunswick, NY/Tamarac) drained a trey then she got the outlet pass from Boucher for a fastbreak layup to put the Red Dragons up 39-30 at 5:40. Following a triple from Mack that gave Oneonta a double digit lead, Buffalo State answered with a pair of three-pointers to trim their deficit to 42-38 at 2:48. In the final minutes of the period, the Red Dragons extended put themselves back up 11 with another 7-0 stretch. Desrats knocked down a pair at the line to start the run, then sophomore Leela Guobadia (Farmingdale, NY/Farmingdale) made a layup before Boucher scored inside and split a pair at the line to put the team up 49-38.

Oneonta overpowered Buffalo State at the start of the fourth quarter and outscored them 16-3 to take a commanding 65-41 advantage with 2:40 to play. Six different Red Dragons scored during the run with Eckert leading the way with four points from the free throw line while Young drilled a deep three from the wing. The Bengals ended the game on a 9-2 stretch where Cameron-Pressley scored the lone jump shot for the Red Dragons.

Young finished the game with eight points, while Beaudoin had seven points with three rebounds. Desrats recorded five points, four boards, and the game-high six assists.

Oneonta shot 38.1 percent from the floor, 32.0 percent from three-point range, 68.8 percent (11-for-16) from the free throw line and they held a 17-7 margin in second chance points. Buffalo State shot 31.3 percent from the field, 29.2 percent from deep, and 75.0 percent (3-for-4) at the line. Naya Haymon led the Bengals with 19 points and three rebounds.

The Red Dragons are back in Dewar Arena for their final home game of the regular season on Friday, February 13, against New Paltz starting at 5:30 pm. Read Full Article