The State University of New York New Paltz hosted SUNYAC rival Cortland Friday night in the Hawk Center in a re-match of last year’s conference title game.
The last time the Red Dragons and Hawks faced off in the Hawk Center, SUNY New Paltz hoisted the SUNYAC trophy to dethrone what was the former champions. The result Friday once again favored the hosts, as SUNY New Paltz extended its winning streak to four and moved above .500 for the first time on the year following a 64-50 win over Cortland to stay unbeaten in SUNYAC play.
The Hawks forced the Red Dragons into 19 turnovers in the game and limited them to just 35 percent shooting from the floor, while also holding the advantage in points in the paint (38-24) and total rebounds (37-27). Graduate forward Abby Korzekwinski was a big factor in the latter two categories, as she pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds to go along with 15 points. She also held strong defensively inside, blanking Red Dragons leading scorer, 6’2 transfer Joleen Lusk as she went 0-for-4 on the night.
Momentum started to turn toward SUNY New Paltz with two minutes left in the first quarter, igniting following a layup by freshman guard Sophia Bonnell. Bonnell found Julia Sabatino from 3-point range before Sabatino assisted Madison Mullman’s triple to cap the run and push the Hawks ahead, 16-13. The Red Dragons registered the last two points of the period to trim the difference to one entering the second.
Sierra Carter assisted Mullman on another trey to give SUNY New Paltz its largest lead of the half at 30-22 with more than two minutes to go in the second. Cortland ended the half with a pair of free throws with neither team finding the bottom of the hoop the rest of the quarter to set the Hawks lead at 30-24 at the break.
The Red Dragons grabbed the lead three minutes into the second half, thanks to a steal which led to a 3-pointer that pushed the visitors in front, 34-32. SUNY New Paltz worked the ball inside to Korzekwinski following a steal by Mullman, and the Shoreham, NY native finished strong at the hoop, getting her bucket to go and earning the foul for the traditional 3-point play. Korzekwinski hit on the ensuing free throw to re-gain her team’s lead. Cortland answered with a basket on the other end, but Korzekwinski found Sabatino in the paint for two to gain the Hawks advantage once again, which they never let go the rest of the way.
Following a fastbreak bucket by the Red Dragons, which cut the score to four, SUNY New Paltz answered with eight straight points to end the period to go up by 12 entering the fourth. The offense was spread around in the run with Mullman, Bonnell, Carter and Sabatino all scoring in the stretch.
The Hawks piled on in the fourth, going up by as many as 18 with Karly Wittenbauer getting in on the action with two-straight baskets in the mid-range. The Red Dragons scored their first points of the quarter with six minutes left off a pair of free throws with their first basket of the period coming midway through on a made jumper by Mariah Huss.
Cortland closed the gap to 10 following a made 3 with about three minutes left by Brooke Tillotson, but the hosts clamped down defensively and held the Red Dragons without a basket until the final seconds of the game and in turn flexed their cushion back to 16 thanks to a pair of makes in the paint by Hannah Vanderzee and another two points by Korzekwinski to secure the win.
Sabatino matched Korzkekwinski with a game-high 15 points, while adding six rebounds, two steals and a game-high eight assists. Mullman followed with nine points off the bench, while adding two rebounds and two steals. Carter finished with eight points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal, while Vanderzee registered six points, six rebounds, two blocks, two steals and an assist.
SUNY New Paltz looks to keep its winning streak alive and stay undefeated in the SUNYAC when it hosts Morrisville Saturday in the Hawk Center for its Green Out for Mental Health Awareness Game at 2 p.m.
