The State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team has a new season starting Friday, and the No. 24 nationally ranked Hawks are familiar with one-and-done postseason stakes.

SUNY New Paltz, which is riding a 17-game winning streak, has had the top seed in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament clinched for two weeks and is ready to get the playoffs started in the Hawk Center Friday against No. 5 seed The College at Brockport.

"I expect them to go out there and play well," said Hawks coach Jamie Seward. "We've been pretty consistent in terms of playing well over the course of a very long stretch here now. I think you have to be pretty good to win the amount of games that we've won here in 2019 since the calendar has flipped regardless of who you're playing against and I think we've played some really good teams along the way as well." 
The Hawks are entering their fifth-straight playoff appearance and are just two years removed from their SUNYAC Championship and NCAA Sweet 16 appearance with more than half of that roster still on the team. Coming off all those accolades in 2016, last season was a disappointment for SUNY New Paltz after falling in the conference semifinal against eventual champion SUNY Geneseo. Although the roster is virtually the same as last season, the disappointment of falling short has lit an even hotter fire under the Hawks.

"I think there has been a difference almost the last day that last season ended," Seward said. "The urgency in the preparation that begins in the offseason that carries into the summer and into the preseason when they get back for school, and then start practice in October. There's definitely been a higher level of urgency and focus that goes along with that urgency… We're just trying to understand that level of focus, but also not have any fear that goes along with it. Playing with excitement and anticipation of that moment, not fear of what might happen, but knowing that it is just the reality. Coming off a very clear horizon and now it's really time to go out there and enjoy every second, whether it's practice or a game, because these opportunities that they have a shrinking by the day."

Before the Hawks can contend for their third SUNYAC Championship in the last four years, they have to get through the Golden Eagles, who pulled off an upset in the quarterfinal round against No. 4 seeded SUNY Cortland.

The College at Brockport (11-15 overall, 8-10 SUNYAC) has won its last three games, including two-straight against the Red Dragons. The Golden Eagles are one of the best defensive teams in the conference, holding opponents to less than 63 points per game on just 31 percent shooting from the field. In both matchups against the Hawks, they held SUNY New Paltz to its lowest scoring totals against conference opponents on the year.
  "They do some things that gives us some problems," Seward said. "They defend well, they slow the game down enough to make it a little more difficult for us to get into our offensive rhythm and that is something we have to deal with or figure out how to change. One way or another, they've given us problems."

In the first matchup back on Jan. 11 in the Hawk Center, the Hawks had one of their best defensive outings of the year, which was needed, as they also scored one of their lowest point-total in the, 60-47 win. Rachel Simon led the way offensively with 14 points, while Kei-Kei Glover had a break-out game off the bench with 10 points. Philesha Teape and Paige Niemeyer did a good job in the paint, combing for 18 points and 12 rebounds. Emily Nester was the catalyst for Brockport, scoring 15 points on 50 percent shooting with 13 rebounds and three blocks, but the rest of the Golden Eagles struggled to find their scoring touch, as SUNY New Paltz also forced 22 turnovers in the game to help in the win.

The Hawks struggled in the second outing at Brockport, as they needed a 9-0 second quarter run to get going and take a slight, one-point lead at the half. The Golden Eagles did a good job of limited SUNY New Paltz's leading scorers in Simon and Lindsay Bettke, but with the defense honed in on the duo, it allowed Marion Dietz to carry the offense for the Hawks, as she finished with a game-high 24 points in the eventual, 69-53 win.

"We struggled in both those games," Seward said. "I think our two lowest scoring outputs in conference play. We had a hard time getting any footing in the first half of the second game at Brockport. It just seemed like we were spinning our wheels and fall behind and then we made a run at the end of each quarter, first and second quarter, to get back in the game to ultimately take a lead at the half, but it was definitely a struggle. It was a grind."

Nestler, a 6-foot senior forward, leads her team with 14.4 points per game, which ranks sixth in the SUNYAC, while also ranking fifth in total rebounds (219) and rebounds per-game (8.4). Against SUNY Cortland in the quarterfinal round Tuesday, she registered her 11th double-double of the season after scoring 11 points on 50 percent shooting with 10 rebounds. The Hawks will look to limit her touches inside to slow down Brockport offensively.

"She is a good-sized kid who has good hands and gets good positioning, and finishes well around the basket," said Seward of Nestler. "As a team, they do a really good job of featuring her. So much of what they do centers around getting the ball to her in her spots. If she gets the ball in her spots, you kind of have to pick your poison. You either let her go one-on-one and she's too good and she's going to make you pay for that, but then if you send a double team at her, they've got some guards who can make some shots and can penetrate. It's a challenge and they just do a really nice job of featuring her. She's a talented kid. She is a very good player who can definitely put up a lot of points and put up those points in bunches. It's certainly a big challenge."

If the Hawks earn their third win of the season against the Golden Eagles, they will face the winner of the other semifinal matchup between No. 6 Fredonia State and No. 2 SUNY Geneseo. The Blue Devils pulled off an upset of their own over No. 3 SUNY Oneonta Tuesday, which was the only SUNYAC team to best SUNY New Paltz this season. The reigning conference champion Knights, meanwhile, are looking to get back to their fifth-straight finals game.

SUNY New Paltz swept both teams during the regular season, earning 82-60 and 81-53 wins over Fredonia and 71-61 and 73-64 victories over SUNY Geneseo.

The Blue Devils and Knights are set to tip-off first in the Hawk Center at 5:30 p.m. with the Hawks and Golden Eagles following at 7:30 p.m. The winners of each game will then compete in the SUNYAC Championship Saturday in the Hawk Center at 4 p.m.

"We expect to play well, but we also know that it only takes one poor performance for all that to be over or one great performance by your opponent, so we're going to need to be at our best and I'd like to think that we're heading in that direction," Seward said. "We had a tremendous Monday and Tuesday at practice. Everybody was really focused, upbeat and enthusiastic together, so it's expected to go out there and play well, but we're going to have to go out there and play really well. We're going to have to go out there and play our best games that we've played all year in order to keep playing."

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