CORTLAND, N.Y. – Kaeli McAnally (Islip) hit two free throws to tie the game with 11.9 seconds left in regulation and Joleen Lusk (Cherry Valley/Cherry Valley-Springfield) scored what proved to be the winning layup with 44 seconds remaining in overtime as Cortland fought past visiting New Paltz, 68-65, in a battle of the SUNYAC's top two women's basketball teams.
 
Cortland earned its seventh straight victory to improve to 9-2 overall and 4-0 in the SUNYAC. New Paltz had a five-game winning streak snapped and is now 8-2 overall and 2-1 in the conference. Cortland (2023, 2025) and New Paltz (2019-20, 2022, 2024) have combined to win the last six SUNYAC titles.
 
Brooke Tillotson (Marathon) led four Cortland double-figure scorers with 13 points. Sophie Bissaillon (East Greenbush/Columbia) made 5-of-9 shots and matched her career highs with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Sam Dembinsky (Wallkill) shot 5-for-5 from the field to score 10 points, tying her career best, and she pulled down a career-high six rebounds. Mariah Huss (Buffalo/Sacred Heart Academy) added 10 points, including seven of Cortland's 11 points in overtime.
 
Also for the Red Dragons, Lusk scored nine points and pulled down seven rebounds. Adriana Fontana (Endicott/Union-Endicott) scored seven points and McAnally finished with five points, five assists and four rebounds.
 
Brianna Fitzgerald led New Paltz with 25 points, six steals and four blocks. She made 10-of-11 free throws. Karly Wittenbauer totaled 16 points, five rebounds and three assists, and Hannah Vanderzee recorded 10 points, five assists, five steals and five rebounds. Fitzgerald and Vanderzee each played the full 45 minutes in the contest.
 
Cortland led 21-9 with less than a minute left in the first quarter, but New Paltz scored the last basket of the period and outscored the Red Dragons in the second quarter, 24-8, to take a 35-30 halftime lead. Cortland came back to tie the game at 48-48 entering the fourth.
 
New Paltz took a 57-53 lead on a Sierra Carter layup with 2:48 remaining in regulation. Bissaillon hit a layup with 2:14 left to make it a two-point game, and neither team scored again until McAnally was fouled and hit the two free throws that tied the game. New Paltz missed a shot with eight seconds left and McAnally fought to control the rebound, but the Red Dragons didn't have enough time to get a shot off.
 
Huss hit a 3-pointer nine seconds into overtime and added a layup with 4:16 left to give Cortland a 62-57 lead. New Paltz eventually grabbed a 65-64 lead on a Fitzgerald layup with 1:14 left, but Lusk connected on a layup with the shot clock winding down to put Cortland back up. The Hawks missed a shot with 30 seconds remaining. Cortland, with the shot clock shut off, turned the ball over with 15 seconds left, but Fontana quickly stole the ball back and Huss was fouled with 12 seconds left. She made both free throws to put Cortland up three, and a final highly contested New Paltz 3-pointer was short and time expired as the ball went out of bounds.
 
Cortland finished shooting 46 percent from the field, including 6-of-12 from 3-point range, and hit 10-of-13 free throws. New Paltz shot 45 percent overall but just 2-of-6 from deep. The Hawks made 15-of-18 foul shots. Cortland scored 19 points off of 17 New Paltz turnovers and the Hawks converted 21 Cortland turnovers into 17 points.
 
Cortland will host Oneonta in league action Saturday at 2 p.m.