Geneseo, NY — A disastrous first quarter was too much to overcome for the State University of New York at New Paltz Monday against hosting Geneseo.
 
Although the Hawks (9-4 overall, 5-2 SUNYAC) climbed their way out of a near 20-point deficit and got within four with two minutes to go in the game against the Knights, they never regained the advantage and suffered just their second SUNYAC loss of the season after falling to the Knights, 63-56.
 
"I did a poor job preparing the team for today's game," said SUNY New Paltz coach Jamie Seward. "We practiced well coming in, but I didn't prepare them for how aggressive Geneseo played. They really pushed the ball and attacked the basket, and we had a very difficult time keeping them out of the paint. I mean they took 36 free throws, and even though a handful of those were when we were intentionally fouling at the end, that many free throw attempts makes it awfully clear how much more aggressive they were than us."
 
The game, which was originally scheduled Jan. 7, was postponed to Monday with the Hawks coming off two dominating defensive performances in wins over Buffalo State and Fredonia. They did struggle on the offensive end in both outings, but their defense carried them to two double-digit victories. Their shooting woes continued Monday, but on top of a rough offensive night was one of their worst defensive starts all season.
 
SUNY New Paltz gave up 21 points to the Knights and allowed them to get out to a 14-point lead after the opening 10 minutes. The 21 points was one shy of a season-high yielded by SUNY New Paltz, as the team conceded 22 in a win over Misericordia earlier in the season. However, in that game, the offense picked up with 16 points, but on Monday SUNY New Paltz's struggles offensively continued. It connected on just 10 attempts in the first half, including only three made baskets in the first quarter. The 14-point deficit was also a season-worst start following the first quarter of play.
 
Most of Geneseo's points in the first came in transition with the hosts connecting in the paint or earning trips to the foul line following misses on the opposite end by the Hawks. Of their 35 first half points, 15 came in transition. After Maddie Gillis made an opening 3-pointer for SUNY New Paltz, the Knights scored seven unanswered points and maintained control the rest of the way. Graci Serravillo broke up the run with a tough finish on a driving layup with 3:45 to go in the quarter. She then ended another scoreless streak for SUNY New Paltz two minutes later that cut the deficit to 14-7, but the Knights responded with seven unanswered points, five coming in fast break.

"I thought that 12-2 run to close the first quarter really ended up being where the game was decided," Seward said. "That gave them a cushion the rest of the way. I'm not sure we addressed much of anything to be honest because there was just so much to deal with, so we basically said that we had a game plan going in, let's try to execute that. Unfortunately, we didn't do that to start the second half either and they opened it up again."
 
The Hawks improved in the second and trimmed the deficit to as close as 11 and were more successful finding the bottom of the hoop. Brianna Fitzgerald helped the offense get going, netting a baby jumper in the paint for the team's first basket of the period. Fitzgerald registered another two points three minutes later, capitalizing off a block by Semaiah Williams on the defensive end to cut the score to 26-13. Serravillo then inched the team closer with a baseline jumper and hit again in the final seconds before the end of the half with SUNY New Paltz beating the Knights press, leading to an easy find by Gillis to an open Serravillo underneath. Cassidy Deaver then solidified the 35-22 score at the break with a block in the final seconds of the half.

"We didn't guard the ball and weren't alert off the ball so that put us in a lot of compromising positions on defense. Plus, we were just having such a tough time scoring," Seward said. "That's the second game in a row we barely cracked 20 at halftime, so that's something we're going to have to try and figure out."
 
Keeping the Hawks in the game was Geneseo's poor shooting from the foul line. The Knights earned 26 trips to the charity stripe in the first 20 minutes and hit just 12 for only 46.2 percent, which helped SUNY New Paltz stick around and get back into the game in the second half. Geneseo ultimately finished on 21-of-38 attempts from the free throw line.
 
After trailing by as many as 18 midway through the third quarter, Seward went to his bench of underclassmen Jenny Walton, Madison Mullman, Morgan Hammell, Julia Sabatino and Abby Korzekwinski to finish out the period, hoping for a spark. Walton and  Mullman helped in the slight momentum shift with two huge made 3's toward the end of the quarter to put their team within 11 at 49-38 entering the fourth.

"We made some substitutions at the media timeout in the third and that group got out and guarded more aggressively, forced some turnovers and gave us a little spark but at the same time had some bad decisions and defensive lapses during that stretch too that limited that run," Seward said. "Morgan did some good things. Abby too, and Sabs was making some things happen on both sides."
 
SUNY New Paltz kept working and outplayed the Knights in the fourth, but Geneseo made sure to bend and not break. Although they allowed the Hawks to get back in, they never relinquished the lead. Down the stretch, every time SUNY New Paltz were on the brink of a run with a made basket, the Knights made sure to answer on the other end. The Hawks also didn't do themselves any favors, working hard to get stops and turnovers, but not capitalizing with points as they continued to trail throughout the period.
 
Fitzgerald got her team within 10 following a steal and easy basket in the paint with 4:17 to go and then added on next time down the floor after connecting on 1-of-2 from the foul line to cut the difference to nine for the first time since the opening minutes of the game. Following a turnover on a traveling violation, Serravillo hit from distance to cut the score, 54-48 with 2:44 left. Working hard off the glass, the Hawks responded after Fitzgerald hit on an offensive put-back to land them within four with less than two minutes remaining.
 
Out of a timeout, Geneseo answered with a made basket in the paint and then added on with a trip to the foul line, following an offensive rebound to extend its possession and eat time off the clock. With time ticking down, SUNY New Paltz was forced to intentionally foul and the Knights hit enough to keep the Hawks at bay and close out with the win.

Fitzgerald finished with a team-leading 16 points in 30 minutes and was two rebounds shy of a double-double, including four offensive boards. Serravillo followed with 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting with four rebounds, two steals and a team-leading four assists. Walton chipped in with eight points in 15 minutes off the bench, while Williams had seven rebounds, two steals and team-leading three blocks.
 
SUNY New Paltz has a tight turnaround, as it plays at Oneonta Tuesday for a 5:30 p.m. tip.

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