Box Score New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team didn't have its best shooting night against Plattsburgh State (6-12 overall, 5-7 SUNYAC) Friday night, but the Hawks (11-7, 7-4) worked hard on the boards and made stops when it mattered most, which helped snatch a 56-50 win.
 
"Playing a lot of young, inexperienced players you can tell they were a little bit timid and not the kind of confidence that they needed to have," said SUNY New Paltz coach Jamie Seward, who was missing starters Lindsay Bettke and Paige Niemeyer in the game due to injury. "Fortunately, they made some plays late and I think that will be something for them to build on moving forward. I think tonight was good for them even though it wasn't ascetically pleasing performance."
 
The Hawks couldn't find its shooting touch to open up the game. It took until the 7-minute mark on an offensive rebound and put-back by Rachel Simon to give SUNY New Paltz its first points of the night.

The shooting woes continued throughout the first 20 minutes, as the Hawks made just six baskets in the half. However, they continued making a conscious effort of getting in the paint and worked hard the glass. They totaled 15 of their 31 first-half rebounds on the offensive end, which helped them get to the line 10 times where they made eight to help cut the score, 23-21 at the break.
 
"Our defense was good. We worked hard defensively, but we gave up a lot of offensive boards so we were playing a lot of defense," said Cardinals coach Cheryl Cole, whose defense kept SUNY New Paltz to just 15 percent shooting in the first half. "I was pleased with our defensive effort entirely, but you got to finish the play by securing a defensive rebound and that we didn't do too good of a job."
 
SUNY New Paltz worked itself back to take its first lead of the game midway through the third quarter, following a 3-pointer from Marion Dietz. But Plattsburgh State countered with six straight points on back-to-back makes from the perimeter to re-gain control.
 
Maddie Van Pelt got the Hawks within one to break up the run, but the Cardinals ended the quarter on an 8-2 advantage to gain a seven-point cushion entering the fourth quarter.
 
However, SUNY New Paltz started gaining some momentum on the offensive end that was ignited from its dominance on the boards. The Hawks scored more points in the fourth (23) than it did in the entire first half (21).
 
"When we're not making shots, we're making sure we're doing the other things right," said Simon. "Getting on the ball, diving on the floor, getting after rebounds, getting it in the post, post-cutting. Little things like that, we make sure we execute those and if we execute those perfectly then the shots will come."
 
Van Pelt helped her team creep back midway through the fourth, capitalizing on a second-chance opportunity and Dietz followed with a lay-up to cut the deficit to two. Simon then picked up her own rebound off a missed-3 and netted the equalizer. Anna Thompson ended the run for the Cardinals, but Taylor Howell countered with a huge 3 from the corner to give SUNY New Paltz the lead once again.
 
Frannie Merkel earned a trip to the foul line following a timeout, and after sinking both, she put Plattsburgh State up by one. But with 34 seconds dwindling down, Van Pelt created some space down on the block and hit the go-ahead bucket to put her team ahead, 51-50, and the Hawks defense stepped up from there.
 
Following a timeout, the Cardinals took the ball out in the front-court and SUNY New Paltz was prepared for the play. Trying to keep the ball out of the hands of leading scorer, Merkel, the Hawks quickly-doubled the sophomore forward and forced a turnover.
 
"We didn't want [Merkel] to beat us. We knew they were going to try and go to her, so we wanted to try and get the ball out of her hands and make someone else put up a shot," Seward said. "Fortunately, we did a good job with that and they weren't able to make a good pass out of that double team. That was certainly a key play late there."
 
Simon then picked up the steal and was immediately fouled. The junior transfer stepped up to the foul line, and didn't look one bit fatigued despite playing nearly the entire game, and confidently hit both attempts at the line.
 
"In the timeout, right before that possession… that is what we were focusing on, getting that turnover, forcing that turnover," Simon said. "We knew right then and there we weren't going to give them a shot and we weren't going to foul them, and we were going to get a steal out of it — and we did. We did what we had to do."
 
After another timeout, Plattsburgh State had about 24 seconds to either tie or get a quick bucket, trailing by three. But, the Hawks continued their tight play defensively and forced an arrant pass by Bella Depasquale. Plattsburgh State was again forced to foul and Simon stepped once more at the free throw line to ice the game.
 
"I think we were a little tight," Cole said. "We made a couple crucial turnovers that kind of just killed us. We had our chances, we had our opportunities and that was just a game we definitely let slip away. Between the boards and our inability to execute at the end, basically the Achilles heel right there."
 
Simon led the way for her team, finishing with 20 points and 12 rebounds, five of which came on the offensive glass, while adding three rebounds and a steal in 38 minutes.
 
"Things that expend a lot of energy she was doing, and continued to do that and still make free throws down the stretch," Seward said of Simon. "We think she's one of the best guards in the league, and with the injuries that we have, she's going to need to be. Hopefully this is one of the many performances of the way we think she should play. Hopefully she shoots the ball a little better, but the overall aggression of the game, to play that many minutes at that high of level that was certainly huge."
 
Dietz followed offensively for SUNY New Paltz, finishing with 14 points, six rebounds and three steals in 38 minutes. Van Pelt, once again, was vital on the boards and was two points shy of a double-double, ending with eight points and 11 rebounds. Demi Herasme and Philesha Teape were also dominant on the glass, combining for 14 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end.
 
As a team, the Hawks shot just 23.4 percent from the field, but made 16-of-20 from the foul line, including a perfect 6-of-6 in the final seconds to seal the victory.
 
"We certainly had enough misses to go around to get offensive rebounds, but when you look at the ratio we did an excellent job on the glass," Seward said. "That hasn't been something we've been very good at throughout the season. One thing we aren't getting better at is getting to the free throw line and that helped us too."
 
SUNY New Paltz hopes it can build off its come-from-behind win, and finish its home stand with a victory against SUNY Potsdam Saturday.
 
"What we're taking away from this game against Plattsburgh is some confidence," Simon added. "A lot of us did a lot of good things, so I think heading into Potsdam tomorrow we're heading in with confidence, and in the coming weeks as well. It's a good time of the year to get that confidence, so we're definitely going to feed off this win."
 
The Hawks are scheduled to take on the Bears in the Hawk Center at 1 p.m. Be sure to follow @nphawks on Twitter and @newpaltzhawks on Instagram and Facebook for live updates, highlights, game recaps and more!