New Paltz, NY- The State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team came up victorious in a home match against the visiting Golden Eagles of SUNY Brockport, 64-37. 

Friday's competition against the Golden Eagles would be the second of the season after the Hawks saw them only a few weeks prior as the traveling team. In their last meeting, SUNY New Paltz's win came down to the final minutes of the game and ultimately the Hawks walked away with a five point victory, 60-55, having only 8 players present at the competition. Friday's home match gave SUNY New Paltz the opportunity to capitalize on its full bench. 

"We had a little more depth inside, so that allowed us to play...I think that was a big part of the game last time at Brockport... they were able to score inside when [Semaiah Williams] got in foul trouble and this time we were able to rotate our bigs and I think that kept them from really getting established inside and...we kept the ball out of the paint and [did] a good job on their best offensive player...we thought with extra depth, we could do a better job inside and make it hard for them to score, which we did," said Head Coach Jamie Seward. 

The Hawks found success denying scoring opportunities for the Golden Eagles and concluded a strong first half with a 16 point lead. Several Hawks showed up to play including Sophomore Jenny Walton who secured 9 points early on to help gain SUNY New Paltz's early lead. Junior captain Cassidy Deaver also made a notable appearance on the court, leading the Hawks in points with 12 and contributing to a solid defense as well.  

"You know we got a number of contributions from a lot of people. I thought that Graci and Cassidy, as they have been, were really good guarding the ball and I thought our bigs all did a good job, Semaiah Vicky , Abby... winning their touches inside. 

Jenny made some shots in the first half and that allowed us to open up a lead a little bit and I thought a couple groups of players did a really nice job executing our offense both against a zone and man," said Seward. 

The first half of the game was strong for SUNY New Paltz. Defensively the team was solid, with quick and effective transitions that allowed them to move the ball quickly around the hoop. Despite the hefty 35-19 lead at half time, the Hawks knew going into the second half that they needed to keep the energy up and to win the beginning of the third quarter to set the tone for the rest of the game.  

"I think overall we did really well like, growing from last time. When we played them last time we kind of let them back in the game a bit but this time we made sure like coming into the second half we played good defense. Even though we weren't necessarily scoring, we got the stops we needed and withheld our lead," said Deaver.

SUNY New Paltz wanted to ensure that history did not repeat itself.  

"...When we played Brockport, we had a similar lead at the half and, you know, it ended up being a game that came down to the last possession, so we just wanted to make sure we came out and tried to win those first four minutes of the second half, which we ultimately only did by one point because we struggled scoring. But, I thought we did a really good job defensively during that stretch...we got another 5 or 6 minutes off the clock without them scoring much, or certainly getting back into the game..." said Seward  

SUNY New Paltz had a slow start offensively going into the third quarter and earned only 7 points total. It was their solid defensive effort that allowed the Hawks to keep their lead and shut down SUNY Brockport's offense.  

"I thought at the end of the third quarter we gave away a bunch of points on turnovers and fouls and those were the two things, the fouls in particular, that we were really stressing... don't foul and don't send to the line. Then we got a little bit loose there with that late in the third quarter," said Seward. 

With a whole quarter left to go, the Hawks stressed their need to stay alert to secure the win when they met at the break.  

"...It was just reminding them, get out and guard...but be smart about it and don't put ourselves in a position where they can score points without having earned them," said Seward.  

SUNY New Paltz picked up the pace in the last quarter, exhibiting a newfound energy. Several players came off the bench to shake up the dynamic on the court and every Hawk kept the enthusiasm up to secure the win.  

"We stayed energetic on the court and on the bench. We were getting what we wanted we just needed to finish and that's what we ended up doing," said Deaver. 

The Hawks will turn around and face another SUNYAC competitor, the SUNY Geneseo Knights, Saturday. SUNY New Paltz faced the Knights only a few days ago and came up short, losing 56-63. For their next competition, the Hawks know what they need to change to guarantee they find success this time around.  

"We're going to have to be more aggressive... you know we played Geneseo earlier in the week and they were more aggressive than us...They really attacked us in transition last time and had some success there so, you know, we are going to have to be a lot more alert and ready to play," said Seward.  

Scouting will be an emphasis for SUNY New Paltz, in addition to keeping their energy up going into battle with the Knights. 

"...We did a good job today with the scout, and we need to carry that into tomorrow because last time with Geneseo we did really bad with the scout and we just need to have that same energy that we had today. Like, we said in our meeting at the end of the game like we just had a different feeling today and we need that tomorrow too," said Deaver.  

Next up the Hawks will host SUNY Geneseo Jan. 22 at 2 p.m. in the Hawk Center. 

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