Box Score Box Score

MEDFORD, Mass. – The State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team (3-5) had its chances against a challenging Tufts University squad on Saturday afternoon in non-conference action, but the host Jumbos (6-1) used the high-scoring tandem of Tiffany Kornegay and Colleen Hart to push past the Hawks, 69-57.

Tufts' dynamic duo accounted for more than half of the team's scoring output. Kornegay boasted a double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing a game-high 10 boards. Hart became the program's all-time leading scorer, as she dropped in 21 points off 6-of-12 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 shooting from the free-throw line. Kornegay and Hart each dished out the game-high total in assists with four.

Three Hawks reached double figures in scoring. Junior guard Caitlin Irwin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) drained a team-high 12 points, going 5-of-8 from the floor, which included a 2-of-4 performance from beyond the arc. Junior forward Shanay Bradley (Bronx, N.Y.) and sophomore guard Maliqua Fisher (North Babylon, N.Y.) also posted double-figure totals, pitching in 10 points apiece. Irwin and Bradley each reeled in seven rebounds, while Bradley and sophomore guard Kahsyrah Bryant (North Babylon, N.Y.) shored up the defense with three steals each.

While the final margin appeared lopsided, both teams were fairly even on the stat sheet. New Paltz outrebounded Tufts, 41-38, but the Jumbos' 42.0 percent field-goal percentage off 21-of-50 shooting from the floor topped the Hawks' 37.1 percent clip (23-of-62). New Paltz turned the ball over 22 times, while Tufts coughed it up on 19 occasions.

Tufts, which competes in the vaunted New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), hopped out to an early 12-4 lead with 13:19 left in the first half and ended up pushing the score to 20-8 at 10:20 off of a Liz Moynihan layup. New Paltz, however, went on a 17-12 run to close the first stanza, with Fisher cutting the score to 29-25 before Collier Clegg drained a three to give the Jumbos a seven-point cushion at the intermission.

The Hawks went on a 14-6 spurt to begin the second half and captured their first lead of the afternoon with 13:46 remaining in regulation when Irwin sank a shot from distance to give the blue and orange a 39-38 advantage. New Paltz would lead by as many as five in the period, but the visiting Hawks would relinquish the advantage with 10:28 left and would not recover. After New Paltz took that five-point lead, Tufts closed out the contest riding the crest of a 29-12 run.

While New Paltz's overall record is under the .500 mark, the Hawks' non-conference opposition has combined to go 40-6 so far this year.

The Hawks close out the semester on Monday, Dec. 13, when they host Montclair State University at 7 p.m. in the Hawk Center.