CORTLAND, N.Y. –
Jackie Funk's (Penfield) layup with 2:17 left broke a tie and Cortland held on down the stretch to defeat visiting Oneonta, 59-53, in a SUNYAC women's basketball contest.
Cortland improved to 14-5 overall and moved into second place in the SUNYAC with a 10-2 mark, a half game ahead of Geneseo (10-3) and a game behind first-place New Paltz (11-1). Oneonta fell to 8-11 overall and is tied for fourth in the conference with a 6-6 record.
Cortland led 17-13 after one quarter, 30-21 at halftime and 44-33 after three periods, but Oneonta fought back and eventually tied the game at 49-49 on Amanda Zuntag's basket with 2:30 remaining. Funk hit a shot to give Cortland the lead, and
Logan Streety's (Elma/Iroquois) fast break layup with 1:46 left pushed the host's lead to four.
Molly Stephens answered for the guests with a layup at the 1:16 mark. Cortland missed a shot on its next possession, giving Oneonta a chance to tie or take the lead, but
Brooke Tillotson (Marathon) registered a steal with 38 seconds left. Cortland called timeout and advanced the ball to the frontcourt. Stephens stole the ensuing inbounds pass, but Tillotson quickly stole the ball back with less than 30 seconds left.
Oneonta fouled four times to put Cortland in the bonus and Funk made two free throws to give Cortland a 55-51 lead. Megan Desrats scored for the guests with 15 ticks left to cut the deficit to two, but
Abby Wilkinson (Cato/Bishop Grimes) sank two foul shots shortly thereafter and Tillotson sealed the win with a steal and layup in the closing seconds
Streety led Cortland with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds. Funk finished with 13 points and five boards, Tillotson totaled 10 points, six rebounds, five steals and a career-high tying five assists, and
Mariah Huss (Kenmore/Sacred Heart Academy) finished with eight points, two steals and a career-high nine rebounds.
Stephens finished with 16 points, five steals and six rebounds for Oneonta. Zuntag tallied 14 points and Jenna Harclerode ended with seven points, eight rebounds and three steals.
Cortland travels to Potsdam on Friday and Plattsburgh on Saturday for league contests.
