NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – Sophomore Micki Volpini (Newfield) scored 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting and registered four steals and senior Jessica Laing (Bloomville/South Kortright) recorded her 15th double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds as SUNYAC leader Cortland defeated New Paltz, 64-52.
Cortland improved to 11-1 in the league, one game ahead of Oneonta with six games remaining. Cortland is 16-3 overall and has won 11 straight contests. New Paltz slips to 10-9 overall and 7-5 in the SUNYAC.
Senior Miranda Lustig (Medford/Patchogue-Medford) added 10 points and four assists and sophomore Allyson Biordi (Beacon) finished with seven rebounds and seven assists. Cortland shot only 36 percent from the field, but hit 83 percent of its foul shots (19-of-23). The Red Dragons held the Hawks to 27 percent shooting from the floor.
Senior Kristen Caban (Staten Island/St. Joseph Hill Academy) led New Paltz with 14 points. Senior Carly Minehan (Albany) chipped in with nine points and nine rebounds.
Cortland used an early 10-0 run, including three-pointers by Laing and Biordi, to take an 18-8 lead with 10 minutes left in the first half. New Paltz got back to within 22-18 on a Minehan layup with 3:43 left, but Lustig scored five points during a 10-4 stretch that gave Cortland a 32-22 lead with 1:45 remaining.
The Red Dragons led 34-24 at halftime, with Laing (14) and Volpini (11) accounting for 25 of their 34 points. New Paltz got no closer than nine points the entire second half.
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