The State University of New York at New Paltz will officially begin the second-half of its season Saturday when it faces SUNY Oneonta at home to complete the two-game home-in-home series.
 
The last time the Catskill Cup rivals met, the Hawks (13-3 overall, 8-1 SUNYAC) narrowly came away with a three-point victory in a lack-luster performance. SUNY New Paltz shot just 26.6 percent in the game and was out-rebounded by the Red Dragons, 43-33.
 
Oneonta was given numerous chances down the stretch to re-take the lead after getting the score to a one-point game with more than two minutes to go. A late foul on the defensive end gave the Red Dragons two shots at the foul line, but missed both. The Hawks couldn't convert their following attempt from the floor, but Olivia Badura quickly came up with a steal to prevent another opportunity for the hosts to re-gain control. The Red Dragons were then forced to foul to slow down the clock and Marion Dietz iced the game at the charity stripe for SUNY New Paltz.  
Badura led the team with a career-high 22 points, while the Hawks took advantage of 27 turnovers by Oneonta that resulted in 17 points for them on the offensive end.
 
"I think the first time around we weren't prepared for them to come out as aggressive as they did," said SUNY New Paltz freshman guard Graci Serravillo. "We didn't think they were clearly as strong as they were and so, I think we really learned that they're coming out hard. They are going to come out aggressive and we need to bring our A-game for them because they are going to bring their A-game for us."
 
The Red Dragons (6-10 overall) have gone 3-3 since their loss to SUNY New Paltz Jan. 11, earning conference victories over Oswego State and Fredonia to place themselves tied for sixth in the league standings with a 3-6 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) record. They split their most recent SUNYAC weekend against Buffalo State and the Blue Devils, defeating the Bengals fairly handily, 73-58.
 
All-SUNYAC senior forward Leanne Corso has played in all 16 games without a start, totaling 20.9 minutes per game and leads the team with about 11 points per game. She also is the team's second-best rebounder, pulling down about seven a contest, while shooting just less than 40 percent on the season. Six-foot senior forward Casey Hayes follows offensively, averaging about nine points per game, shooting 42.6 percent from the field, while adding a team-best 7.4 rebounds an outing to go along with nearly two assists and a block per game.
 
Oneonta has struggled on the offensive side of the floor, scoring more than 60 points just twice in 16 matchups and averaging just 53.9 points per game. However, on the defensive end the Red Dragons allow just 56 points a contest, third best in the SUNYAC, while keeping the opposition to 32.9 percent from the field and 29.7 percent from behind the arc.
"I expect them to come out aggressive like they did," Serravillo said. "I think they are going to attack the boards. They're sitting in the middle of the pack right now in SUNYAC's and they are fighting for their chance to be in the playoffs just like we are, so they are going to bring their A-game every night. This is like a playoff game for them and they're going to bring their best game. They are going to hit the glass hard. They are going to be aggressive taking it to the basket, so we need to find the shooters. We need to find the girls who are going to rebound hard and we need to make sure we bring our A-game out for them."
 
SUNY New Paltz swept its back-to-back against the Bengals and Blue Devils after suffering its first SUNYAC loss in 23 games Jan. 21 on the road against SUNY Cortland. Although the Hawks bounced back with a win over Buffalo State, they were disappointed with their performance, allowing the Bengals to hang around late after securing a 14-point first-half advantage. SUNY New Paltz ultimately came away with a 66-60 victory.
 
The Hawks had a better outing defensively the following day against Fredonia, forcing 24 turnovers and keeping the Blue Devils to 40 points on 32.7 percent shooting, but again had a rough offensive night. They shot 23.3 percent from the field (17-73), which included a 4-for-33 performance from the perimeter — the worst of the season.
 
Dietz had a team-high 15 points in the victory and continues to average a team-best 14.4 points per game, shooting 37.9 percent on the season. Niemeyer followed with 12 points after coming off back-to-back career-high 23-point performances against the Bengals and Red Dragons. Her solid three-game stretch earned her a SUNYAC/PrestoSports women's basketball Athlete of the Week honor. Niemeyer is third on the team in points, averaging 10.8 per game, while also pacing the Hawks with 2.75 assists, 2.1 steals and 2.1 blocks per game. She currently leads the SUNYAC in blocks with 34 on the season, which already sits 10th-most all time in SUNY New Paltz single season history. 
The Hawks had their last full week of practice before playing their final nine game stretch of the regular season. The team put an emphasis on having a solid week going into their matchup with the Red Dragons, as they look to come out strong Saturday and set the tone for the rest of the season.
 
"I feel like this week we have really worked hard, and especially getting back to the basic things we need to do defensively — our defense in the post and guarding some of these really aggressive teams that are going to get to the basket," Serravillo said. "These first three days especially we worked really hard. We got to finish out [Friday] so we're ready for this weekend. We have a long stretch of games going toward the end of the season coming up and then playoffs, so we really need to work hard this last day. Work hard this weekend to set the tone for the rest of the year and going into playoffs."
 
The last time the Hawks lost at home in the Hawk Center to Oneonta was on Dec. 9, 2017.  They have defeated their rivals in two of their last three matchups.
 
SUNY New Paltz is set to tip-off against the Red Dragons Saturday in the Hawk Center at 2 p.m.

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