New Paltz Women’s Basketball Team Struggles in Conference Opener vs. Oneonta

NEW PALTZ, NY — Sophomore guard Melissa Donohue (Niverville, NY) paced three Red Dragons in double figures with 15 points to lead Oneonta State to a 63-43 win over SUNY New Paltz in the SUNYAC opener both teams this evening at Elting Gymnasium.

The Red Dragons raced out to a 25-8 first half lead while the Hawks struggled from the field missing 15 of their first 16 field goal attempts. Oneonta finished the first half with an 8-1 run and took a 33-16 lead at the intermission.

New Paltz outscored Oneonta 16-4 in the first eight minutes of the second half and did most of its damage from the free throw line. The Hawks, who were 27-of-39 from the charity stripe for the game, managed to trim a 17-point half time deficit down to 37-33 with 11:30 to play but couldn’t pull any closer.

A balanced Oneonta attack helped turn a four-point lead into a 45-34 advantage with eight minutes to play. Senior guard Kristen Tursi (Staten Island, NY) scored14 points and sophomore forward Kristen Wittig (Lisle, NY) added 12 for the Red Dragons who improved to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the SUNYAC.

The Hawks, now 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the SUNYAC, were led by sophomore forward Tania Liberato (Brentwood, NY) who had 10 points. New Paltz was just 8-of-40 from the field and 0-for-10 from three-point range.