Weigel and Norris Shine In Senior Night Loss

NEW PALTZ, NY — The SUNY New Paltz women’s basketball team fell to Oneonta 61-56 in their final home game of the 2004-05 season.

Playing the final home games of their collegiate careers, seniors Kim Weigel (Whitestone, NY) and Tarah Norris (Port Jervis, NY) helped keep the Hawks close. Weigel finished with 13 points, three rebounds and five assists while Norris tied her season-high of 12 points.

SUNY New Paltz (10-13, 4-10) overcame double figure deficits in each half to stay within striking distance of the Red Dragons. After falling behind 47-37 with eight minutes to play in the game, the Hawks trimmed the deficit to three with six minutes remaining on a three-point play by freshman guard Sarah Salvo (Manorville, NY). The Hawks stayed within three until the four-minute mark when Oneonta reeled off five consecutive points, keyed by a three-pointer from junior guard Gabrielle Doemel (Latham, NY) that put the Red Dragons in front 56-48 with 2:30 to play.

Oneonta (16-8, 10-5) was led senior center Noreen Naughton (Mineola, NY) who finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds. With the victory, the Red Dragons have now won four of their last five games.

Led by Weigel and Norris, the Hawks overcame an early 13-point deficit. SUNY New Paltz trailed 21-9 seven minutes into the game before starting a run of their own. Weigel got the Hawks started scoring five of her team’s next seven points to trim the Oneonta lead to 23-16. Norris then scored six consecutive points to make it a 26-22 game with six minutes to play in the half.

On the defensive end, SUNY New Paltz held Oneonta to just four field goals in the final 13 minutes of the first half to head into the break trailing 32-27.