NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – New Paltz outscored Cortland by 19 points in the second quarter to erase an early nine-point deficit and the Hawks defeated the Red Dragons, 51-42, to hand the SUNYAC leaders their first conference loss.
Cortland had its 17-game winning streak snapped and is now 18-3 overall and 14-1 in conference play. The streak is tied for the fifth-longest in program history. The Red Dragons can still clinch the SUNYAC regular season title next week with either a win in any of their three remaining games, or a loss by New Paltz in any of its final two contests. New Paltz is currently second in the conference with a 12-4 mark and is 16-6 overall.
Maddie Gillis led the hosts with 14 points and nine rebounds. Lexi Van Vorst made three 3-pointers and ended with 11 points, and Brianna Fitzgerald had nine points, five assists and four steals.
Sarah Tully (East Aurora) led Cortland with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Casey Travers (Manorville/Eastport-South Manor) totaled eight points, five rebounds and a team-high three assists and
Corinne Miedreich (Pearl River) added seven points.
Maggie Malone (Cornwall) chipped in with six points and nine rebounds and
Nyia Longford (Medford/Longwood) had six points and five boards.
Cortland scored the final six points of the first quarter, five by Travers, to take a 16-7 lead. New Paltz, however, tallied 21 of the 23 total points scored in the second quarter to take a 28-18 halftime lead, and the Hawks opened the third quarter with a 13-4 streak to take its largest lead at 41-22 with 4:06 left in the period.
Trailing 47-33 after three quarters, Cortland tried to make things interesting in the fourth. The Red Dragons held the Hawks to just four points over the final 10 minutes and were able to get back to as close as nine points at 47-38 on two Longford free throws with 7:33 left. Cortland missed four shots, including three 3-pointers, over its next three possessions with a chance to draw closer. A Fitzgerald layup at the 5:10 mark and two Gillis free throws with 1:04 left made it 51-38. Cortland scored the final four points.
Cortland struggled offensively most of the day, shooting just 24 percent overall and 0-for-15 from 3-point range while committing 21 turnovers. New Paltz finished at 34 percent from the floor and 23 percent (6-of-26) from the arc with 15 turnovers. The Red Dragons hit 16-of-22 free throws, while the Hawks were only 3-of-8 from the line.
Cortland travels to Buffalo State on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
