Cortland, NY — For the first time in 23 games, the State University of New York at New Paltz suffered a conference loss after falling, 61-55 on the road to SUNY Cortland Tuesday.
 
"We had too many errors on the defensive end — missed assignments and gave up key offensive rebounds that they cashed in on," said Hawks coach Jamie Seward. "When you struggled scoring like we did, you can't afford very many of those types of mistakes."
 
SUNY New Paltz (11-3 overall, 6-1 SUNYAC) shot just 29 percent on the night and played behind for most of the game, only leading for about 20 seconds which came early in the third quarter. The Hawks kept the Red Dragons close though, tying the score four times throughout the outing. They overcame a 9-0 start by the hosts and after they knotted up at 15, 18 and 20-all in the first half, SUNY New Paltz cut the deficit to one following a pair of made free throws before the break by Paige Niemeyer to trim the score, 25-24.
 
The Red Dragons stretched their advantage to nine once again after the Hawks went scoreless for a three-minute stretch in the fourth quarter. However, like it has shown in its last two outings on the road, SUNY New Paltz rallied to get within one possession in the final minute and threatened another comeback victory.
 
Following a timeout with 41 seconds remaining, Philesha Teape cut the score, 55-53 on a made jumper for the Hawks. Lexi Van Vorst literally grabbed the ball back for her team after earning a steal off the press, but they couldn't take advantage. Maddie Van Pelt missed her attempt on the ensuing possession for SUNY New Paltz, and although Marion Dietz came up with the offensive rebound, the Hawks never got another shot off as Van Vorst was called for a travel, which returned the ball back to the Red Dragons with about 30 seconds left.
SUNY New Paltz put Shannon McGuire on the foul line shortly after and she connected on both. Niemeyer kept her team's hope alive, however, draining a 3-pointer the next time down the floor and again cutting the game to two with about 23 seconds remaining. Cortland was put back on the charity stripe and this time it was Nyia Longford who was true on both attempts to push the cushion to four. The Hawks couldn't get their next attempt to fall and the Red Dragons added two more points at the line to secure the win.
 
"Moving forward we need to be better at running our offense, I think that's the biggest thing," Seward said. "And we have to care more about the plays that may not have any individual glory, but allow you to win. If you really care about winning, you find someone and go to the defensive glass every time a shot goes up. If you care about winning, you secure that rebound when it's in your hands. If you really care about winning, you step in and take that charge when you have the opportunity to, even though you know it's going to hurt. If you care about winning, you finish your cut when you don't get the ball even if you think you should have. A lot of those things aren't going to show up on the stat sheet, but they certainly determine who wins the game."
 
Cortland improved to 13-1 on the year, winning its 11th-straight contest and stayed perfect in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play at 7-0 to also boost itself to the top of the league standings. The Hawks' six-game winning streak came to an end with the loss and dropped to second in the conference at 6-1.
 
Niemeyer finished with a career-high 23 points after shooting 9-for-21, and matched a career-high 10 rebounds to go along with two assists and three blocks. Teape followed with 15 points (6-11) with a game-high 14 rebounds, six of which were on the offensive end, to post her second-straight double-double and fifth of the season.
 
The Hawks resume SUNYAC action Friday and Saturday when they return to the Hawk Center to host Buffalo State and Fredonia.

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