NEW PALTZ — Trailing by 21 points at the half, the SUNY New Paltz Women’s Basketball team could easily have given in to a blistering-hot Norwich shooting attack on Tuesday night at Elting Gymnasium.
But the (0-1) Hawks shook off their early shooting woes, and made great use of a defensive press to limit Norwich, which had connected on a remarkable 16-of-26 (61.5 percent) shots – including nine of 11 three-point attempts in the first half – to just 25 percent (5-of-20) from the field in the second half.
The (2-1) Cadets barely held on to win, 65-63, and spoil New Paltz’s season opener.
Four New Paltz players scored in double figures in the contest, including sophomore center Zebi Williams, who had a team-high 14 points, while also adding 11 rebounds and three blocks. Seven of those points came in the Hawks’ furious second-half comeback, including a perfect 3-for-3 from the field, to help New Paltz outscore Norwich 36-17 to cut the final margin to just two points.
Hawk freshmen Maura McShane (13 points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals) and Britni Bishop (10 points, five assists) and senior Lisa Burriss (11 points, six rebounds, two assists) were the others.
Meanwhile, freshman guard Lisa Belmonte (three assists, two steals) had a game-high 22 points, and fellow freshman Jamie Abrams had 15 of her 17 points at halftime to lead Norwich.
New Paltz returns to Elting Gymnasium next Tuesday for a 7 p.m. contest against local rival Mount St. Mary.
For complete game statistics, please visit the following location: http://hawk.newpaltz.edu/athletics/statistics/files/wbbstats11212000.pdf
