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BUFFALO – The second-seeded State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team (18-8) continues its quest for its first-ever State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) title this weekend, as it takes on third-seeded SUNY Oneonta (17-8) in the semifinal round of the 2012 SUNYAC Women's Basketball Tournament on Friday, Feb. 24, at the Buffalo State Sports Arena on the campus of Buffalo State. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.

WHAT'S AT STAKE?
The winner of the 2012 SUNYAC Women's Basketball Tournament will bring home both the SUNYAC title for the 2011-12 season as well as an automatic berth into the 2012 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament. Fifth-seeded SUNY Cortland takes on top-seeded Buffalo State in the other semifinal game at 8 p.m. on Friday, while the winners of the two semifinal contests will meet in the championship bout on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 4 p.m. Both the semifinal and final rounds will be hosted by Buffalo State.

TICKETING INFORMATION
Tickets for adults are $5, while college students with valid ID will be admitted for $2. There will be no advanced ticketing.

NEW PALTZ'S LAST TIME OUT
The Hawks jumped out to a 13-0 lead early and cruised down the stretch, topping SUNY Plattsburgh, 81-69, in the quarterfinal round of the SUNYAC Tournament on Tuesday. Senior forward Shanay Bradley (Bronx, N.Y./New Explorers) scored a career-high 22 points and added 12 rebounds, while junior forward Alex McCullough (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) accumulated 21 points, four rebounds and three steals. Notably, no starter played more than 27 minutes in the victory, and every player who suited up for the game saw action.

ABOUT THE SERIES
New Paltz and Oneonta have met 48 times, which is the most games the Hawks have played against any one opponent in their history. New Paltz trails, 35-13, in the all-time series, but the two programs have been rivals over the course of the past few seasons. This marks the third straight year that they have met in the conference semifinals—New Paltz prevailed, 82-79, in a four-overtime win in 2010, while Oneonta won, 71-66, in last year's tournament. This season, the two teams split the regular-season series, with the Red Dragons winning the first meeting, 61-57, on Dec. 10 and the Hawks winning the most recent matchup, 49-44, in overtime on Feb. 17.

NEW PALTZ IN THE POSTSEASON
The Hawks will be in search of their first-ever SUNYAC title, as they are 6-9 all-time in the SUNYAC Tournament. New Paltz has made the conference tournament during each of head coach Jamie Seward's six years with the team, and the Hawks qualified for the 2007 ECAC Division III Upstate Tournament, losing to SUNY Oswego, 71-59, in the quarterfinals.

ON A HOT STREAK
Since losing to Montclair State, 71-50, on Dec. 13, New Paltz has turned its season completely around. After limping into the winter break with a 3-7 overall record, the Hawks have won 15 of their 16 games played in the 2012 portion of their schedule, with their only setback during that span coming against Buffalo State on the road on Jan. 27. Buffalo State, which owns the SUNYAC's top seed in the league's postseason tournament, also has only one loss since the turn of the calendar year.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
New Paltz has caused a load of problems for the opposition on the defensive side of the floor this year, as the Hawks lead the league in blocked shots (111, 4.27 per game) and steals (344, 13.23 per game). They also are tops in the conference in turnover margin (+4.69) and offensive rebounds (482, 18.54 per game). In addition, the Hawks rank 19th in NCAA Division III in steals per game. Individually, Bradley paces the SUNYAC in rebounds per game (9.0) and blocked shots per game (1.3), while McCullough ranks third in the conference in blocked shots per game (1.19). McCullough has proven herself as one of the best shot blockers in the history of the program, as she tied the all-time program mark of 103 set by Dana Maul from 1992-94 against Plattsburgh in the SUNYAC Tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday. Junior guard Maliqua Fisher (North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon) and senior guard Caitlin Irwin (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) rank among the top perimeter defenders in the league, as both average 2.27 steals per game.

HEAD COACH JAMIE SEWARD
Jamie Seward is by far the winningest coach in program history, as he inherited a team that had just two winning seasons in its history before helming the team prior to the 2006-07 campaign. Seward became the program's first 100-game winner this season, as he reached the milestone following a 76-50 win over The College at Brockport on Feb. 4. He boasts a career overall record of 105-56.

SCOUTING THE RED DRAGONS
The Red Dragons struggled in their final two regular-season games, losing to SUNY Potsdam and New Paltz. The pair of losses dropped the Red Dragons from first to third in the conference standings, but Oneonta bounced back with a 53-40 win over SUNY Oswego in the SUNYAC quarterfinals. Oneonta boasts a lockdown defense that holds its opposition to a league-best average of 52.9 points per game and a league-best 31.7 field-goal percentage. The Red Dragons also capitalize on their free-throw attempts, as they lead the conference in free-throw percentage as well (71.0 percent). Oneonta is led by Samantha Szkotak, who ranks sixth in the SUNYAC in points per game (13.4) and has 1,216 career points, which is the fourth-highest total in program history.