NEW PALTZ, NY- The SUNY New Paltz woman’s basketball team concluded the regular season Saturday evening against Plattsburgh in the Hawk Center. The Hawks defeated the Cardinals 76-55 and secure second place in the SUNYAC Tournament.
In the first three minutes of the first half the Cardinals took a 10-2 advantage, but the Hawks responded with a 16-2 run over the next four minutes and forty-six seconds to take a 16-12 lead with 12:20 remaining on the clock. The Cardinals cut the lead to 20-19 only to see the Hawks start a 12-3 run to push their lead to 32-22 with 6:41 remaining in the half. The Cardinals Taylor Amarando converted on a lay-up to stop the run, but the Hawks finished the half on a 14-6 run to go into the break with a 46-30 advantage.
Sophomore forward Artie Williams (Newburgh, NY/Newburgh Free Academy) led the Hawks with 11 points and five rebounds. Junior guard Maggie Farrell (Hillsdale, NY/Immaculate) and freshman guard Kaitlin Clifford (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) netted ten points apiece, Clifford also dished out three assists.
The Cardinals were led by Vanessa Arthurton with ten points and Amarando scored eight points. Erin Silberberg dished out four assists in the first half.
In the second half, the Hawks continued to cruise scoring the first five points. The Hawks only allowed the Cardinals to get as close as 19 points in the half and would lead by as many as 26.
Williams netted a game-high 18 points and had eight rebounds and moves into tenth all-time on the New Paltz scoring list. Clifford tied her career-high with 17 points and dished out three assists. Farrell added 13 points and moves into 14th all-time on the schools scoring list and ninth all-time on the steals list. She also moved into 11th all-time on the schools rebound list. Junior guard Nicole Sarcone (Staten Island, NY/Notre Dame Academy) had a game-high four steals and dished out three assists, Sarcone moves into sixth all-time on the steals list. Junior forward Carly Minehan (Albany, NY/Albany) scored five points and moves into 15th all-time on the schools scoring list. She also moves into ninth all-time on the rebounds list and ninth in blocks in a season with 18. Junior forward Chelsea Clarke (Ithaca, NY/Lansing) tallied two block shots and moves into seventh all-time on the schools block list.
Amarando recorded a double-double with a team-high 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Arthurton chipped in with 12 points and Megan Lynch added ten points. Elizabeth Silver dished out a game-high five assists in the efforts for Plattsburgh. Plattsburgh finishes the season 12-13 overall and 8-8 in the SUNYAC.
The Hawks finish the regular season with a 17-7 overall record and finish second in the SUNYAC with a 13-3 record.
The Hawk will host Potsdam February 24 at 7 p.m. in the Hawk Center in the first round of the SUNYAC Tournament.
