Late Rally Pulls Oneonta Past New Paltz

NEW PALTZ, NY – — The SUNY New Paltz women’s basketball team led by as many as 13 points early in the second half against conference rival Oneonta, but the Red Dragons rallied for a 63-51 victory this evening at Elting Gymnasium.

Oneonta outscored the Hawks 12-4 in the final 4:20 to erase the double-figure deficit. Three Red Dragons scored in double figures including senior forward Alena Seabrook (Middletown, NY) who had a game-high 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Senior forward Silver Williams (Newburgh, NY) put the Hawks ahead 13 with a basket on their first possesion of the second half. Despite shooting just 29 percent on the night, Oneonta chipped away at the New Paltz lead and took a 51-49 advantage with 3:46 to play after converting eight straight points at the foul line. The Red Dragons hit 24-of-33 from the line for the game to push their overall mark to 10-9 and their record in league play to 7-4.

Sophomore guard Ann Marie Faia (Yonkers, NY) finished with 13 points and junior guard Kristen Tursi (Staten Island, NY) added 11 for the Red Dragons who earned their second win of the year over New Paltz.

With New Paltz leading 20-19 late in the first half, junior guard Maura McShane (East Rockaway, NY) sank two three-point field goals to highlight a 13-2 run that gave the Hawks a 32-21 lead at the break.

New Paltz hit 6-of-8 from three-point range in the first 20 minutes, but converted on only 2-of-8 in the second half. The Hawks were also 7-of-16 at the line for the game and just 3-of-11 in the second half.

Freshman guard Colleen Kelly (Hyde Park, NY) and sophomore forward Tarah Norris (Port Jervis, NY) each had 11 points for New Paltz who is now 7-13 overall and 2-9 in the SUNYAC.