Fredonia, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz climbed out of a first-half deficit to hosting Fredonia Friday night to secure a series sweep over the program following a 78-63 road victory.
 
The Hawks (18-3 overall, 13-1 SUNYAC) found them selves trailing the Blue Devils (9-14, 5-11) within the first few minutes of the first quarter, but they started working their way back toward the end of the period. An offensive rebound and put-back by Maddie Gillis was followed with a corner 3-pointer by Cassidy Deaver, which cut the score to 14-10 for SUNY New Paltz. Deaver grabbed an offensive board a play later to give her team an extra possession and the Hawks got the ball in the hands of Paige Niemeyer who attacked the basket for a driving layup, finishing at the rim to get the score to 14-12 entering the second period. SUNY New Paltz had a rough start to the second, but Philesha Teape helped the Hawks stay within reach, as she stayed aggressive on the offensive glass with back-to-back put-backs. Fredonia answered on the other end and got to the foul line to take a 28-20 advantage with about four minutes left in the half. Teape again was the catalyst for her team, finishing strong on the block for two and then stealing the ball back on the other side of the floor. Gillis found Teape wide open on the perimeter on the way down the floor and Teape buried the attempt to cut the deficit, 31-25. Teape earned two more points after registering another steal. She then capitalized on the offensive end, getting hacked underneath the basket to put herself on the foul line where she made a pair of free throws.

"Phil was definitely a catalyst getting us back in the game," said SUNY New Paltz coach Jamie Seward. "Maddie Gillis started penetrating and drawing some help and Phil cleaned up a lot of it."
 
The Blue Devils answered, but Gillis quickly responded with a trey seconds later, as the Hawks pushed the ball after the made basket. Gillis found the hole again, as she answered a Fredonia and-1 with an and-1 of her own, finishing the traditional 3-point play to trim the difference to three.
 
Olivia Badura got in on the action for SUNY New Paltz. Following a fast-break basket off a steal, Teape helped the freshman to two more points after getting in the passing lane to snatch a pass off a Blue Devils in-bounds play, allowing Badura to get out in the open floor and earn a trip to the foul line. Badura made 1-of-2 attempts to tie the game at 36 with 26 seconds remaining. Teape forced another Blue Devils turnover, playing good defense on the block to jar the ball loose, which led to another Badura basket on the other end to give the Hawks their first lead at 38-36. SUNY New Paltz narrowly came away with a halftime lead, but a last second half court heave gave the Blue Devils a one-point cushion.
 
"Graci [Serravillo], Lexi [Van Vorst], Cassidy and Liv also were key contributors during the late second quarter where we got back in the game," Seward said. "They were really up against it in that we were down double digits, put them in the bonus almost the entire quarter, and had three senior starters in significant foul trouble. However, they rose to the challenge, played some good defense and forced some turnovers that allowed us to get out in transition."
 
The Hawks re-gained the lead in the third quarter and started to open up the game in the fourth. Teape started the final 10 minutes with consecutive offensive boards, getting her second put-back to go to extend SUNY New Paltz's lead, 60-54.
 
Graci Serravillo helped the difference to 11 with about five minutes to play, burying her shot from the perimeter. Teape registered another steal to get SUNY New Paltz running in transition, which led to an open lay-in by Niemeyer to extend the advantage to 13 midway through the quarter. SUNY New Paltz hung onto their double-digit cushion the rest of the way and closed out its seventh-straight win.
 
Gillis, Maddie Van Pelt, Marion Dietz and Teape all finished in double-figure points, with Van Pelt and Dietz combining for 25 points in the second half alone. Dietz led the Hawks with 16 points, followed by Teape with 15, Gillis with 14 and Van Pelt with 12. Teape also finished with a game-high 14 rebounds, grabbing six on the offensive glass, to notch her sixth double-double on the year. 
 
SUNY New Paltz is back in action Saturday when it faces Buffalo State at Sports Arena for a 2 p.m. tip.

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