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NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – Sophomore guard Maliqua Fisher (North Babylon, N.Y.) had a career day against Baruch College (0-1) on Monday evening in the Hawk Center, as the State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team (1-0) squeaked out a 79-77 victory over the Bearcats in non-conference action.

Fisher drained a career-high 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field and 5-of-7 shooting from the free-throw line while compiling a career-high total in rebounds with 14. Both totals were game-highs.

“Maliqua was tremendous,” head coach Jamie Seward said. “She was great not only statistically, but the leadership she showed down the stretch was unbelievable. I truly believe she's just scratching the surface of her potential.”

Sophomore forward Alex McCullough (Delmar, N.Y.) picked up where she left off last year, boasting a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Junior forward Shanay Bradley (Bronx, N.Y.) added 12 points and seven boards coming off the bench, while freshman forward Jeanette Scott (North Babylon, N.Y.) grabbed 10 caroms in reserve duty.

For Baruch, Megan Bouwens led the way with 16 points and 14 rebounds, while Fola Shade Akinde also posted a double-double with 10 points and 13 boards.

New Paltz led at the break, 41-37, but the Bearcats battled back and forth with the Hawks for the lead in the second half.

With the score tied at 56 with 12:51 to go in the second stanza, New Paltz went on a tear, scoring seven unanswered points. Baruch came within two at 66-64 with 6:11 left on the clock, as Jessica Duleba hit a jumper off of a Monique Salmon feed.

The contest was up for grabs in the final minute, and Duleba shook things up when she hit the second of two free throws to cut the Hawk lead to one with 12 seconds remaining. Salmon fouled out with 10 ticks left, and Fisher hit a big free-throw to extend New Paltz's advantage to 79-77. Baruch took the final possession but was unable to produce the game-tying or game-winning bucket, as Lorin Clarke missed a three-pointer at the buzzer.

“We've got a lot of work left to do and a long way to go,” Seward said. “We showed signs of what we're capable of. We need to work on consistency. We had chances in both halves to open up a decent-sized lead, but we made some mistakes defensively and had some mental errors. Those are things we pride ourselves on.”

Neither team shot particularly well from the floor in the first half, but each side turned it up a notch in the second. On the game, New Paltz outshot Baruch, achieving 36.3 percent shooting from the floor (29-for-80) to the Bearcats' 32.5 percent total (25-for-77).

The Hawks will not be able to rest on their laurels, as they host a tough Mount Saint Mary College team on Wednesday, Nov. 17, at 6 p.m.