The State University of New York at New Paltz won eight straight since falling in its only conference game of the year Jan. 21 to SUNY Cortland. The Hawks will have a re-match against the Red Dragons Tuesday with an opportunity to extend their streak and own the top spot in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) standings, while stepping closer to clinching the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
 
SUNY Cortland heads into the matchup at 19-3 overall and 13-2 in the SUNYAC, losing to Buffalo State and most recently SUNY Oneonta Feb. 11 to fall a game behind the Hawks in the league standings. They bounced back with two wins this past weekend after losing to the rival Red Dragons earlier in the week, defeating visiting SUNY Potsdam and Plattsburgh State by 15-plus points each.
 
Cortland leads the SUNYAC in points per game, averaging 70 a contest, while shooting 38 percent from the field and about 31 percent from 3-point range. Senior Beth Bonin paces the Red Dragons offensively with 19.2 points per game — second most in the SUNYAC — shooting 41 percent from the floor and nearly 41 percent from the perimeter. The Queens College transfer also leads the team in assists and steals, averaging about four and two per game, respectively. Freshman forward Nyia Longford follows offensively, registering 10.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.  
Defensively, Cortland gives up 54 points per game, the same as SUNY New Paltz, while limiting the opposition to 33.3 percent from the field and only 24 percent from behind the arc. The Red Dragons are plus five in rebounding, pulling down 44 an outing, and plus five in turnover margin, forcing nearly 19 turnovers a contest.
 
The Hawks had a tough time offensively the first time the two teams met in Corey Gymnasium. They shot just 29 percent on 22 made attempts, and in turn played from behind for most of the game. SUNY New Paltz put itself in position to earn the go-ahead bucket in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, but couldn't connect and the Red Dragons iced the game on the foul line to secure the victory. Paige Niemeyer and Philesha Teape combined for 38 of the Hawks' 55 points and 24 of the team's 51 total rebounds in the loss. Longford and Bonin finished with a team-best 19 and 15 points, respectively.
 
Since then, SUNY New Paltz has buckled down even more so on the defensive end. It leads the SUNYAC in caused turnovers and steals, averaging 25.2 and 11.9 per game, respectively. The Hawks' offense has also started clicking more in their last three outings, averaging more than 72 points per game on 37 percent shooting. On the weekend, they had explosive second halves, scoring 40 points in the last 40 minutes against Fredonia State, which led t o a 78-63 victory and then had a 35-point third quarter against Buffalo State that secured a 79-57 win.
 
Teape registered back-to-back double-doubles against the Bengals and Blue Devils, averaging 12.5 points and 13  rebounds in the two outings. Marion Dietz also had two of her best offensive games in awhile, leading the team with a combined 34 points. She paces the team offensively, averaging 13.3 points per game on the year. Maddie Van Pelt follows with 11.5 points per game, shooting 41 percent, while adding seven rebounds and a team-high 2.5 steals a contest.
 
The Hawks are set to take on the Red Dragons Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m. in the Hawk Center.

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