SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Cortland women's basketball team shook off a slow start and pulled away for a 68-52 win at Skidmore in a non-league match. The Red Dragons improved to 2-1 with the victory.
Cortland trailed 16-8 with less than two minutes left in the first quarter and 19-13 at the first period break. Skidmore shot 64 percent from the field (7-of-11) in the opening 10 minutes, but the Red Dragons limited the Thoroughbreds to a combined 33 points and 23 percent shooting (9-of-40) over the final three quarters.
Cortland, conversely, shot 9-of-12 from the field in a 22-point second quarter to take a 35-28 halftime lead and the Red Dragons were 7-of-12 from the field and outscored Skidmore 21-12 in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Cortland hit 4-of-6 3-pointers in each of those quarters. Cortland finished the game shooting 51 percent from the floor overall and 50 percent (8-of-16) from the arc. Skidmore ended at 31 percent overall and 40 percent (8-of-20) from deep.
Kayla Campbell (Franklin/Franklin Central) led the Red Dragons with 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting. She also shared the team lead with six rebounds.
Kaeli McAnally (Islip) finished with nine points, seven assists and five rebounds, and three players -
Joleen Lusk (Cherry Valley/Cherry Valley-Springfield),
Brooke Tillotson (Marathon) and
Bella Zingoni (Kings Park/Long Island Lutheran) - scored eight points each. Lusk matched Campbell with six rebounds and Tillotson made two 3-pointers and had six assists and three steals. Zingoni made all three of her shots from the floor, one from 3-point range.
Also for the Red Dragons,
Jackie Funk (Penfield) totaled seven points and five rebounds and
Mariah Huss (Buffalo/Sacred Heart Academy) made two treys and ended with six points.
Skidmore (2-3), a 22-win team last season, was led by Cassie Davidson and Sophia Martinez with nine points apiece. Sarah Chambers and Emmy Plage shared the team lead with seven rebounds each and Plage also had five steals.
Cortland outscored the hosts 13-4 over the final five minutes of the second quarter to take its 35-28 halftime lead. The run featured 3-pointers by Funk, Tillotson and Huss and two Campbell buckets. Skidmore was within five late in the third quarter and down by seven entering the fourth, but Cortland quickly started the final period with a Huss 3-pointer, a Lusk layup and a Tillotson 3-pointer to go up 55-40 with 7:47 left. The lead remained in double figures the rest of the game.
Cortland hosts St. John Fisher, the three-time defending Empire 8 champion, in a non-league game next Tuesday, Dec. 3, at 5:30 p.m.
