Brockport, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz went into halftime Saturday afternoon looking at another double-digit deficit. The Hawks rallied to earn an overtime win Friday night over rival SUNY Geneseo, and Saturday they needed to do the same against The College at Brockport.
 
After overcoming a 13-point fourth quarter hole against the Knights, SUNY New Paltz once again showed its fight and climbed out of a 23-point first half deficit to earn a comeback victory. This time the win came in regulation time, as the Hawks resiliently fought back to earn a 59-51 triumph over the hosting Golden Eagles.
 
SUNY New Paltz had one of the worst first-quarter starts of the season to open up against Brockport. They made just 2-of-14 in the first 10 minutes and connected on just one of five attempts from the foul line. The Golden Eagles in turn built an advantage that ballooned to as many as 23 in the second quarter, taking advantage of SUNY New Paltz's poor shooting and uncharacteristic turnovers. The Hawks committed seven turnovers in the first quarter alone and had 12 in the first half, matching or surpassing what they totaled in three full games on the year. 
Despite the rough start, they started building toward a comeback right before the break and ended on a 6-2 run that cut the score, 34-15 at halftime.
 
"Down 14 at the end of first, I was thinking well, it can't get any worse and then a few minutes later we were down 23, so I guess it could get worse," said SUNY New Paltz coach Jamie Seward. "Brockport always plays us tough. They seem to really get up for the game, and we weren't ready for that, obviously."
 
Maddie Van Pelt totaled a career-high the night before against SUNY Geneseo, but came out and missed her first seven shots against Brockport. She steadily found her rhythm in the second half, working on the block to connect on 4-of-5 attempts, which aided in an explosive third quarter for the Hawks.
 
Midway through the period, SUNY New Paltz forced back-to-back defensive stops, with Cassidy Deaver ending the possession with defensive rebounds on both plays. The Hawks capitalized on the other end, first with a Lexi Van Vorst 3-pointer and the next time down the floor with a Teape bucket in the paint, assisted by Van Vorst to cut the lead, 38-34.
 
After Van Pelt earned a trip to the foul line, making 1-of-2, she helped extend the run by driving and kicking out to Deaver on the ensuing offensive possession. Deaver smoothly knocked down the shot from beyond the arc and officially tied the game up for the first time.
 
The score was knotted twice more in the quarter at 40 and 42-all, but SUNY New Paltz wouldn't re-gain the lead until early in the fourth as the Golden Eagles took a 45-42 advantage into the final 10 minutes.
 
Van Pelt again came up big, earning an and-one just 30 seconds into the final period. She tied the score at 45 following the traditional 3-point play. Brockport answered on the other end, but the Hawks countered once again. Maddie Gillis didn't get credit on the stat sheet, but she had a great find to Teape underneath who got hacked to earn two free shots from the foul line. She connected on both to knot up the score once again, this time at 47.
 
Teape finally pushed SUNY New Paltz ahead with eight minutes left in the game, finding the bottom of the net on a shot in the paint. The Hawks proceeded to go on a 12-0 run and earned points from Teape, Van Pelt, Van Vorst and Paige Niemeyer to help build a 12-point cushion with less than a minute to go in the quarter.

Brockport went scoreless for three-plus minutes until Serena Sordetto ended the unanswered stretch for the Golden Eagles with less than 60 seconds remaining. The Hawks closed out from there, as Brockport missed one last opportunity with time winding down, which allowed the visitors to secure an eight-point win.

"We had Cass, Maddie Gillis, Graci [Serravillo] and Lexi really helped keep us somewhat in the game late in the second quarter," Seward said. "And Cass, Lexi and Maddie Gillis played really well in all phases. We didn't sub much at all in the second half. We pretty much stayed with that group [Van Pelt, Teape, Gillis, Deaver and Van Vorst] the whole time and I was a little worried they may have to expend too much energy to get us back in it that they wouldn't be able to finish. However, they really showed something -- grit, toughness, competitiveness, and got us to the winners circle. So yeah, we can't expect to play 20 minutes and win, but it did show that this group does have something in them."
 
After an exciting weekend on the road, the Hawks (11-2 overall) head home still undefeated in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action at 6-0, while the Golden Eagles dropped to 2-5 in the SUNYAC and 5-9 overall.  
Teape matched a career-high 21 points in the victory and recorded her fourth double-double of the season and first since Nov. 16 after pulling down a team-high 10 rebounds. Van Pelt followed with 15 points — all of which came in the second half — to go along with six rebounds and four steals. Van Vorst followed with 10 points, shooting 3-for-4 from behind the arc, with two assists and a steal in 25 minutes off the bench.
 
"Philesha was amazing in the second half, seemed to be all over the place on both ends of the floor," Seward said. "Her and Maddie Van Pelt really willed us forward and displayed some excellent leadership."
 
SUNY New Paltz is back on the road Tuesday for another tough game against SUNY Cortland who joins the Hawks as the only teams in the conference without a SUNYAC loss.
 
Tip-off Tuesday is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in Corey Gymnasium. 

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