Grantham, PA — The State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team competed in the opening round of the Messiah Tip-Off Tournament against Clarks Summit College Friday and earned a 70-45 win over the Nittany Lions to advance to the championship round Saturday.
 
After a tight first half, the Hawks (2-1 overall) opened up the game in the third quarter. Brianna Fitzgerald was nearing her way to a triple-double in the first 20 minutes, totaling six points, six rebounds and six assists to lead the way and help her team to a 34-23 lead at the break with Julia Sabatino going up and under in the final seconds to bring the cushion to double-digits at the break.
 
"We didn't execute very well in the first half, against their zone or their press," said SUNY New Paltz coach Jamie Seward. "We did here and there, but allowed them to hang around, mostly because of the turnovers, but also we weren't aggressive enough to the ball and to balls off glass."
 
Following a bucket by Clarks Summit to begin the third, SUNY New Paltz responded with a 10-point run, started with a jumper in the paint by Jenny Walton and was followed with a put-back by Fitzgerald, then a trey by the junior before Abby Korzekwinski capped the surge with a made free throw with seven minutes left in the period.  
Maddie Gillis and Sabatino helped the Hawks to their largest lead of the quarter at 55-33 and again at 58-36. Gillis knocked down a shot in the lane following an offensive board by Victoria Venus with about two minutes to go, and Sabatino re-upped that same advantage with 30 seconds left on a fast-break bucket. Elizabeth Singleton (18 points, 10 rebounds) finished on the final points of the quarter to bring the difference back down to 20, with SUNY New Paltz leading 58-38 heading into the final 10 minutes.
 
The Hawks bench then finished off the game in the fourth. Erin Cooney was the catalyst, playing 10 minutes and scoring all eight of her points on the night in the fourth. The Nittany Lions never got within 20 again and SUNY New Paltz collected its second win of the season.
 
"Definitely came out of halftime with more energy and better attention to detail, and that allowed us to open it up a bit," Seward said. "We knew we could exploit them in the paint, but we needed to pass the ball well enough to take advantage and we were able to do that in the second half."
 
Korzekwinski recorded a team-high 13 points and added three rebounds and a block. Fitzgerald followed with 11 points, nine rebounds, six assists and one steal. Walton was the only other Hawk in double-figure points, ending with 10 points with one rebound, one assist and one steal.
 
SUNY New Paltz returns to the floor Saturday, facing hosting Messiah in the championship game of the Tip-Off Tournament. The Falcons, who entered the season as D3hoops No. 21 team in the country, handily defeated Lycoming College, 70-42 in the opening round Friday night.

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