Irwin’s late boost gives the Hawks the victory over Oneonta

NEW PALTZ, NY- The SUNY New Paltz women’s basketball team hosted Oneonta Saturday afternoon in the Hawk Center and defeated the Red Dragons 60-50 on Athlete Appreciation Day at New Paltz.

The Hawks opened the game on a 10-4 run only to see the Red Dragons come back to tie the game at 13-13 with 10:13 remaining in the half.  Oneonta took a 25-20 lead with 3:55 remaining only to see the Hawks finish the half on a 7-0 run to take a 27-25 half time lead.  The Hawks held the Red Dragons to 19 percent shooting, but Oneonta stayed in the game going 12-for-13 from the free throw line. 

Junior forward Carly Minehan (Albany, NY/Albany) tallied nine first half points to lead the Hawks and junior forward Chelsea Clarke (Ithaca, NY/Lansing) chipped in with six points.  Junior guard Nicole Sarcone (Staten Island, NY/Notre Dame Academy) dished out six assists.

The Red Dragons were led by Rebecca Bucci with ten points and four rebounds and Sara Chrystie chipped in with eight points and four rebounds.

For the first nine minutes of the second half both teams battled back and forth for a 38-38 tie before the Hawks scored five straight points to give them the lead for good.  The Red Dragons were able to cut the lead to one point on three occasions, but the Hawks were just too tough.  With the Hawks leading by one point at 47-46 with 3:49 remaining, freshman guard Caitlin Irwin (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Kearney) scored eight straight points to push the lead to nine and propel the Hawks to the victory.  Irwin finished the game with 12 points and tied her career high with seven rebounds.  Minehan scored a game high 16 points, had seven rebounds and three assists and junior guard Maggie Farrell (Hillsdale, NY/Immaculate) added eight points and ten rebounds for the Hawks.  Sarcone had seven points and a game high nine assists.

Bucci led the Red Dragons with 14 points and seven rebounds and Mary Kate O’Connell chipped in with 11 points and had three blocks.  Oneonta falls to 16-4 overall and 9-3 in the SUNYAC.

The Hawks improve to 13-5 overall and 9-2 in the SUNYAC.  The Hawks return to the court Monday February 9 at 7 p.m. at Baruch in the Main Gymnasium.