Fredonia, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz bounced back from a disappointing loss to Buffalo State Sunday with a 58-43 win over hosting Fredonia thanks in large part to a career game from sophomore Brianna Fitzgerald.
 
Fitzgerald was a steal away from becoming just the second player ever in program history to register a triple-double and the first since former Hawk Jasmine Sanchez '99 did so her senior season in 1999. Fitzgerald finished with a game-high 25 points, 11 rebounds, nine steals and two assists while playing all 40 minutes in the victory. 
 
"Bri was excellent on both sides of the floor," said SUNY New Paltz coach Jamie Seward. "Great to see her back to attacking like she did today."
 
The first half was tight, as the Blue Devils opened up with an explosive 19-point first quarter. The Hawks held the lead at 10-5 before a media timeout in the middle of the quarter stopped play. Out the break, Fredonia scored six unanswered points and re-took control with a 15-10 advantage. Semaiah Williams broke up the run with a floater in the paint, but the Blue Devils extended their advantage to six entering the second. 
 
The hosts ballooned its lead to as many as nine in opening three minutes of the second period, but Fitzgerald continued her prolific day and scored six-straight points to get her team within one with two minutes to go. A defensive stop on the next possession for SUNY New Paltz, led to Lexi Van Vorst getting to the foul line where she made 1-of-2 and tied the game at 27. The Hawks had another solid half-court defensive stop and forced a turnover with the shot clock winding down. Fitzgerald earned the steal and went coast-to-coast for an easy two to put her team up, 29-27 at the break.
Fitzgerald totaled 16 points with six rebounds and five steals in the first half alone, equating to nearly half of SUNY New Paltz's first-half point total.
 
Her performance to end the second, helped the Hawks carry momentum into a game-changing third quarter where they out-scored the Blue Devils 19-7 and flexed their largest lead of the game at 48-34 to end the third, thanks to a last second make in the paint by Victoria Venus.
 
Fredonia rallied to get within seven with about four minutes to play in the fourth, but SUNY New Paltz halted the run with a defensive stop and two points from Venus on the offensive end. The team buckled down again with their half-court defense and forced the Blue Devils into a miss and then a turnover on their next two offensive possessions with less than a minute left. Maddie Gillis and Venus earned back-to-back trips to charity stripe where they each made a pair to length the gap to 13. A miss in the final seconds closed out the win with Fitzgerald picking up one last board and two more points to ice the 15-point victory.
 
Fitzgerald finished with career-high in points (25), minutes played (40), field goals made (10) and attempted (22), rebounds (11) and steals (9) in a highlight performance. Her 25 points was also the most by a Hawk all season. Venus recorded her second double-double of the year, ending with 11 points (4-11) and 10 rebounds in 34 minutes. Van Vorst was the main facilitator on the day, registering a career-high six assists and six steals to aid in a game-high 21 steals on the day for SUNY New Paltz. Graci Serravillo finished with eight points and four rebounds, while Madison Mullman chipped in with five points, two rebounds and a steal in 15 minutes off the bench.
 
"Yeah, I decided coming in that Bri was going to play close to 40 [minutes], and I wasn't pleased with some of the play from our bench, so we didn't really substitute in the second half other than Madison Mullman who gave us a nice lift in the second half and was a part of that group who put the game away," Seward said. "Lexi struggled offensively, but had a great game on defense, and Vickie was certainly a presence in the paint on both ends."
 
The Hawks are on short rest, as they come home to host Oswego and Cortland Friday and Saturday in the Hawk Center. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.

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