Potsdam, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz ended the regular season with a 78-55 win over SUNY Potsdam Saturday.
 
The Hawks claimed the series sweep with the victory, and also with the triumph their four seniors — Marion Dietz, Maddie Van Pelt, Philesha Teape and Paige Niemeyer — officially became the winningest players in program history with 84 career wins.
 
The quartet led the way in the victory, combining for 60 of the Hawks' 78 points on the day with Dietz and Van Pelt pacing the team with 20 and 19 points, respectively. Dietz shot an efficient 5-for-7 from 3-point range, while adding five rebounds and three steals in 20 minutes of action. Van Pelt netted 8-for-14 from the field, while registering four rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals in 18 minutes. Niemeyer and Teape combined for 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals.
 
"I'm really happy for the seniors and the way they played today was roughly a 20 minute example of why they won 84 games in their careers," said Hawks coach Jamie Seward. "They did a little bit of everything, but above all else they did what they do, which is make winning plays. Whether it's taking a charge, making the extra pass, or just being and staying in the moment, they do things that promote and cause winning plays to happen. Words can't describe how much they mean to this team, how much they have meant to this program, and how much they mean to me personally."
 
SUNY New Paltz set the tone in the opening 10 minutes, limiting the hosting Bears to just four points on just 10 attempts. The Hawks went into the second quarter with a 23-4 advantage with Van Pelt leading the way with nine points. Potsdam shot better in the following period, but SUNY New Paltz remained productive from the floor. It connected on 9-for-17 from the field, and continued forcing Bears turnovers, which turned into easy points the other way.  
Dietz help fatten the Hawks cushion to as much as 31 with about three minutes left in the second following a made 3-pointer. Potsdam answered with eight straight points before Cassidy Deaver broke up the stretch with an offensive board and put-back in the final seconds. The Bears swished the final points of the half however, as Bella Barner knocked down a 3 to cut the difference to 46-23 at the break.
 
SUNY New Paltz pushed its lead back up to 31 in the third, and extended further in the fourth, as Van Pelt gave her team the largest advantage of the game following back-to-back 3's within the first 60 seconds of the fourth. The Bears answered with a trey of their own, but Maddie Gillis made sure to re-up the advantage to 33 after she made her shot from behind the arc. In the end, SUNY New Paltz always held the comfortable advantage to close out with the win.
 
The Hawks ultimately forced 29 Potsdam turnovers in the game and scored 40 points of those miscues, while keeping the Bears to 43 percent from the floor on 21 made shots.
 
Deaver added four points and three rebounds in 26 minutes for SUNY New Paltz, while Gillis finished with five points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal in 24 minutes off the bench.
 
"Nice to see us get off to a strong start," Seward said. "We defended well, took some charges. Very proud of Cass taking her first two charges, and even made some shots. A bit spotty in our focus and execution much of the rest of the game, but some of that is because Potsdam kept playing hard."
 
The Hawks finish the regular season at 22-3 overall and 17-1 in conference play, while the Bears conclude their 2019-2020 campaign at 9-15 overall and 6-12 in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC). With SUNY New Paltz already clinching the top seed in the SUNYAC tournament, it secured a first round bye and home court advantage with semifinals and the championship game hosted in the Hawk Center Friday and Saturday, respectively. Quarterfinal matchups are set for Tuesday with the Hawks taking on the winner of No. 5 seed SUNY Oneonta and  No. 3 Buffalo State.   

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