NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – Cortland led by as many as 16 points in the first quarter and held a double-figure lead the rest of the game as the second-seeded Red Dragons defeated third-seeded Oneonta, 66-43, in the SUNYAC women's basketball semifinals.
Cortland (22-4) will face host and top-seeded New Paltz in the championship game Saturday at 4:30 p.m. The teams will be meeting for the title for the third straight season; New Paltz beat Cortland at home, 63-53, in 2020 and at Cortland, 66-63, last year (the 2020-21 season was canceled). New Paltz defeated Geneseo in Friday's first semifinal game.
Emily Morano (Olyphant, PA/Mid Valley) led Cortland with 20 points and also totaled five rebounds and three steals. She was 7-for-14 from the field with two 3-pointers.
Fiona Mullen (Orangeburg/Tappan Zee) made all five of her 3-point attempt and scored a career-high 17 points in 25 minutes off the bench.
Nyia Longford (Medford/Longwood) led the Red Dragons with 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals.
Logan Streety (Elma/Iroquois) finished with eight points and five rebounds,
Julia Siler (Seaford) rang up eight rebounds and five assists, and
Maggie Malone (Cornwall) added five rebounds and three assists. Cortland notched assists on 21 of its 23 made field goals.
Oneonta (19-8) was led by Olivia Dobrovosky with nine points and Jenna Harclerode with nine rebounds. Meg Nardelli scored seven points and Nadia Brown handed out four assists.
After allowing the game's first basket, Cortland scored eight straight points, all by Morano, to take an 8-2 lead. Oneonta was within four, 11-7, midway through the period before Cortland went on a 14-2 run to take a 25-9 lead late in the period. Mullen made two treys and Streety scored four points during that stretch.
Cortland led 25-11 after the first period and extended its advantage to 37-18 at halftime after scoring the final six points of the quarter. Morano scored 16 of her 20 points and Mullen had nine points in the opening half. Oneonta got back to within 12 points on three occasions in the third quarter, but Cortland went ahead 49-33 entering the fourth quarter and wasn't threatened after that.
