CORTLAND, N.Y. – Cortland outscored Morrisville 10-0 over the final four minutes and the nationally ranked Red Dragons escaped with a 54-49 win over the visiting Mustangs in a SUNYAC women's basketball contest.
 
Cortland (14-2, 9-0 SUNYAC), ranked 23rd nationally by D3hoops.com and tied for 21st by the WBCA, won its 12th straight game. Morrisville fell to 1-15 overall and 0-9 in the SUNYAC.
 
Morrisville led 36-29 with three minutes left in the third quarter, 40-36 entering the fourth and 49-44 after a Celeste Balwin 3-point play with 5:49 remaining in the contest. The score remained that way until Sam Dembinsky (Wallkill) hit a free throw with 3:37 left and Jackie Funk (Penfield) made a layup at the 2:56 mark. Dembinsky's layup tied the game at 49-49 with 2:26 left.
 
Bella Zingoni (Kings Park/Long Island Lutheran) nailed a 3-pointer with 1:56 left on give the Red Dragons a 52-49 lead. Morrisville missed a 3-pointer on its next possession and two possessions later Dembinsky made a layup with 1:03 on the clock to create the final margin.
 
Joleen Lusk (Cherry Valley/Cherry Valley-Springfield) led Cortland with 14 points and a Red Dragon career-best 17 rebounds. She also posted three steals and three assists. Sophie Bissaillon (East Greenbush/Columbia) scored 10 points, Funk and Dembinsky each tallied eight points, and Zingoni finished with seven points. Funk, Sarah Owen (Floral Park/Floral Park Memorial) and Mariah Huss (Buffalo/Sacred Heart Academy) each hauled in five rebounds, and Huss led the team with five assists.
 
Abbie Platt paced Morrisville with 19 points and six steals. Anyssia Ingersoll registered nine points, six rebounds and five assists and Baldwin totaled eight points, eight rebounds and four steals. Morrisville played only six players, including five with 30 or more minutes.
 
Morrisville finished at 35 percent shooting overall and 30 percent (6-of-20) from 3-point land. The Mustangs made 11-of-13 free throws. Cortland shot 34 percent overall, 27 percent from the arc (6-of-22), and just 10-of-19 from the foul line. Morrisville turned the ball over 17 times and Cortland lost the ball 16 times.
 
Cortland returns to action on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Buffalo State.