Box Score Plattsburgh, NY — A dominating second half propelled the State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team to its first State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) win of the season Friday.
 
The Hawks (3-2 overall, 1-0 SUNYAC) went on the road and earned a 69-50 win over Plattsburgh State (3-2 overall, 0-1 SUNYAC) after out-scoring the hosts 40-29 in the last 20 minutes.
 
It was a tight first half with the Cardinals taking the opening lead, but a 9-2 run early in the first quarter gave the Hawks their first advantage of the game. Plattsburgh State benefited of their full court press in the second quarter, forcing back-to-back turnovers in SUNY New Paltz's back court, which led to a 5-0 run and allowed the Cardinals to re-take the lead at 17-16. 
 
However, the Hawks ended the second quarter strong in the last five minutes. Nicole Ziogas tied the score at 18 with a bucket in the paint and Paige Niemeyer snatched back the advantage with two made free throws from the line. A good jumper by Lindsay Bettke, coupled with a made 3 by Niemeyer was capped off by another 3-pointer from Rachel Simon as time wound down in the half to push the Hawks ahead, 29-21 at the break.
 
It was a poor shooting effort by both teams in the first half. SUNY New Paltz connected on just 29.4 percent, while Plattsburgh State shot 37.5 from the floor. The Hawks forced 18 turnovers in the first 20 minutes, but the Cardinals had the advantage on the glass (23-1) to keep themselves in the game.
 
"Very slow start, we allowed them to hang around long enough that it fed them some enthusiasm and excitement," said SUNY New Paltz coach Jamie Seward. "It was a very sloppy first of basketball by both teams. We were turning them over but often gave it right back. And our turnovers were the passive type too, where we weren't even trying to make a play and we just weren't aggressive in any aspect of the game, which were clearly demonstrated by the rebounding numbers at halftime."
 
The Hawks came out to have their most prolific quarter in the third, scoring 21 points. Simon put an exclamation point on the period with a fade-away jumper off the glass as time wound down to push the advantage to 50-34 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
SUNY New Paltz then finished off the game in the final 10 minutes, seeing its largest lead balloon to 23 with four minutes to go. The Cardinals shot just 28 percent in the second half, knocking down just nine baskets, while turning the ball over 18 more times.
 
"I'm not sure how we even had the lead at the half. We came out much more aggressive in the second half, but we still had a spotty overall effort," Seward said. "All that being said, I guess its says something positive to come out slow, struggle to shoot the ball the entirety of the game and still get a win on the road in conference."
 
The Hawks had solid contributions from Ziogas, who put up a season-high 12 points in 18 minutes, while adding five rebounds and a block. Philesha Teape added seven points to go along with five rebounds and a steal, while Simon led the way offensively with 20 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal.
 
"Nicole finally played with more of an attack mindset and that was one of the biggest bright spots tonight," Seward said. "Philesha also did some nice things on defense and cutting and screening well on offense."
 
The Hawks will look to earn their second-straight SUNYAC win when they're back on the floor to take on hosting SUNY Potsdam Saturday at 2 p.m.

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