NEW PALTZ, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team head into its final two games of the 2021-2022 season Feb. 18 and 19 as winners of three consecutive games and holders of second place in the SUNYAC conference. With victories against SUNY Plattsburgh and SUNY Potsdam, the team would improve to 14-4 and 18-6 overall and could potentially tie or overtake first place SUNY Cortland as the SUNYAC tournament, which begins Feb. 22, approaches. 

The first game of the weekend, Friday at 5:30 p.m. in the Hawk Center, has the Hawks locking up with the 7-16 Cardinals, a team that has won just four of 16 SUNYAC games and is next-to-last in the conference, ahead only of 5-17 Oswego State.

The first meeting between SUNY New Paltz and Plattsburgh this season happened on Dec. 4 with the visiting Hawks dominating in a 77-38 triumph. In what was their finest performance of the season on both ends, SUNY New Paltz clamped down defensively and held the Cardinals to just 19 percent from the field as the host team made just 9-of-49 field goal attempts and managed just one 3-pointer out of 11 tries. The most success for Plattsburgh on the day was from the free throw line, as it shot 76 percent, going 19-for-25. 

The 77 points for the Hawks, which was a season-high for the team thus far, were driven by Lexi Van Vorst, who scored a season-high 22 points, including going 6-for-13 from beyond the arc. The 5-foot, 6-inch guard's 9.1 points per game is the third highest average on the team. Along with Van Vorst's 22 points, Graci Serravillo's 10 points was her first of four straight games of double-digit scoring. Over the next three contests against Smith College, The College at Brockport, and Fredonia State, Serravillo put together three-straight 11-point outings, and shot 12-for-23 combined from the field. Junior forward Semaiah Williams had her most impactful game of the year in the 39-point victory, corralling 16 rebounds and blocking six shots. Brianna Fitzgerald, who leads the team with a 13.5 point per game, scored just seven points on 2-for-8 shooting, which does not bode well for SUNY Plattsburgh heading into Friday. Since Dec. 4, she has scored in double figures in 10 of 14 matchups, including a 25-point, 11-rebound output on Feb. 11 at Fredonia State where she played all 40 minutes. 

Leading the Cardinals in their 39-point loss was Payton Couture, who scored 12 points and is second on the team in scoring at 11.1 points per game and first in rebounding at 6.7 per game. The team goes into the weekend having dropped back-to-back contests, 45-34 against SUNY Geneseo on Feb. 11 and 59-41 against the Golden Eagles Feb. 12. In their last victory Feb. 8, against Potsdam, Couture scored 18 points on 6-for-10 shooting while Mya Smith added 17. Deja Beauford leads the team in points per game, as she has averaged 15 in the two games she has played. Hope Sullivan is third on the squad with a 10.5 points per game average. 

SUNY New Paltz is 7-3 in its last 10 games, which included two separate three-game winning streaks. 

Following its matchup with the Cardinals, SUNY New Paltz faces SUNY Potsdam, which handed the Hawks its first SUNYAC loss of the season back on Dec. 3. Two of the team's six losses have come by just three points, their most recent defeat being a 64-61 loss to Buffalo State Feb. 6. 

The Bears, who possess a 7-9 conference and 12-10 overall record, received potent offensive performances from its three top scorers in their most recent win over SUNY New Paltz. Madison McCormick, who is averaging 10.6 points per game this season, was 5-for-8 shooting from the field for 15 points, while Dyamon Hunter was 6-for-12 for 14 points and Jakia Howard, despite shooting just 4-for-10 from the field, made all eight of her free throw attempts on her way to 14 points and had nine rebounds. Hunter leads SUNY Potsdam in scoring on the season with a 14.6 points per game average, while Howard averages 11.3 points along with a team-high 7.6 rebounds. Two seasons ago, the junior led the SUNYAC in rebounding as a freshman with an average of 11.5 rebounds per contest. The anomaly Dec. 8 was Bella Barner, who averages just five points per game but made five of her six 3-point attempts and tallied 15 points in the win. 

SUNY New Paltz put up a valiant effort in the contest, led by Fitzgerald's 21 points as she made 8-of-17 shots. Van Vorst hit five 3-pointers on her way to 17 points, while Maddie Gillis added 11 points and seven rebounds. Serravillo posted a team-high nine rebounds and five assists. 

One of the major differences in the game was the 3-point shooting, with the Hawks making just 10-of-32 while the Bears put away 9-of-16 attempts for a solid 56 percent. Both teams were basically even on the boards, with SUNY Potsdam grabbing 39 and SUNY New Paltz 38. If the Hawks can limit the Bears' opportunities from beyond the 3-point line and shoot better than 50 percent from the free throw line, they should be able to secure their last victory of the season before going into the SUNYAC tournament.

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