NEW PALTZ, NY — Sophomore Maggie Farrell hit a jump shot with five seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime where the Hawks defeated the Red Dragons 68-62. New Paltz’s win over Cortland was the Hawks’ first win vs. the Red Dragons since a 68-58 win at New Paltz on Feb. 15, 1994. Cortland had won the last 27 games vs. New Paltz.
Cortland took their first lead of the game with 4:35 left when Sara Cavanaugh made two free throws. The Red Dragons were up four with two minutes left when Artie Williams made her first basket of the night at 1:39 to cut the lead. Cortland answered with a layup by Jessica Laing. Williams followed suit with her second bucket of the night to cut the margin to two with :38 ticks left on the clock. A Cortland turnover gave the Hawks possession with :13 seconds left to set the stage for Farrell. Farrell missed her first attempt and Williams grabbed the offensive board and gave Farrell the ball back in the lane.
"I am really proud of the way that we fought and played for 40 plus minutes", stated head coach Jamie Seward. "The way the game played out with us getting a big lead and then losing the lead and then having to fight back, really showed the character of our players. None-more so than the last play of regulation when Maggie got knocked to the ground and bounced back up, for the game tying shot."
In the overtime session, the Hawks wore the Red Dragons down outscoring them 11-5, including hitting 5-6 from the line. New Paltz opened the game with an 8-0 run and extended their lead to 22-3 at the 10:41 mark. Cortland cut the lead to eight at 30-22 en route the the 35-29 intermission score. The Red Dragons cut the score to two on a jump shot by Kristin Ciccone before the Hawks used an 8-0 run to reclaim a double digit lead, setting the stage for the intense final minutes.
Nicole Sarcone led New Paltz with a career high 16 points. Farrell posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards. Kristen Caban added 11 points and Williams chipped in with 10.
Seward said, "It was truly a total team effort and our physical play really wore them down, which showed in the overtime. We had a number of great individual efforts and in particular Chelsea Clarke played the best she ever has since being a Hawk."
New Paltz advances to 15-5 overall and 9-3 in SUNYAC and returns to action Saturday afternoon when they host SUNYIT at 2:00 pm.
