Box Score Westfield, MA —The State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team ended a three-game losing skid, defeating Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the opening round of the Westfield State Holiday Tournament, 71-64.
 
The Hawks (4-5) ended a three-game losing skid with the victory, and will play tournament host Westfield State University, which had defeated SUNY New Paltz 104-88 in an early season match up, in the championship game Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
"It was nice to see our players come back from the time off with some really good effort and enthusiasm," said Hawks coach Jamie Seward. "It was also nice to see continued progress on the defensive end."
 
SUNY New Paltz opened up with a 16-8 lead after he first quarter and continued to gain a 31-18 halftime advantage.
 
The Engineers kept the score close in the second half, however, and out-scored the Hawks 29-23 in the fourth, but it wasn't enough to get back in front.
 
"It started to seem like déjà vu at the end of third and early in the fourth, as we became very tentative and looked like we were waiting for WPI to lose or someone else to win the game for us," Seward said. "However, when they got it down to four our five, our players stood up to the challenge and made several winning plays."
 
Lindsay Bettke led the Hawks with 19 points on 50 percent shooting from the field, while adding four assists and a rebound in 29 minutes of action. Rachel Simon and Marion Dietz followed with 16 and 15 points, respectively.
 
Seward also credited Taylor Howell, Bettke, Dietz, Simon and Maddie Van Pelt's efforts down the stretch to help gain the win.

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