New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz collected its 12th straight win and 11th consecutive in the SUNYAC after closing out with a 63-44 victory over visiting Buffalo State to earn the regular season series sweep.
 
After defeating the Bengals by a 66-point margin back on Dec. 10, Buffalo State made sure to keep the game tighter in the series finale in the Hawk Center Friday night. Sixteen first-half Hawk turnovers allowed the Bengals to stay within 12 at the break.
 
"I think we could've picked up the defensive effort right from the jump," said SUNY New Paltz junior guard/forward Brianna Fitzgerald. "I think considering we beat them by so much last time, I think we went in thinking it was going to be a little bit of an easier game, but they came out, they had pep in their step and hit some lucky shots early."
 
Buffalo State took the opening lead before three-straight turnovers allowed the Hawks to jump out in front for the first time in the game on a bucket inside by Fitzgerald.
 
After Buffalo State banked a 3 from distance to gain an 8-4 lead early in the first, Lexi Van Vorst answered by snatching a steal and going coast-to-coast to tie the score. Gabby Palladino then hit on a corner 3 to push SUNY New Paltz ahead and the hosts started rolling. A steal by Fitzgerald on a double at halfcourt allowed the junior to score an easy two in the open floor and after another solid defensive stand, the Hawks pushed once more with Palladino the beneficiary in transition. Jenny Walton capped the run for SUNY New Paltz, ripping the ball away at midcourt for the steal and scoring in the open floor to bring the lead to 19-8. However, the Bengals started gaining ground, going on a 6-0 run to end the period.
 
 
Buffalo State continued the stretch to start the second quarter and got within one at 19-18 in the opening two minutes. Fitzgerald connected on a contested 3-pointer at the top of the arc to stop the run and push her team up, 22-18 with Abby Korzekwinski knocking down from range next time down the floor to re-up a five-point lead with 6:30 to go.
 
SUNY New Paltz slowly started building a double-digit cushion, ignited by some tough defense and rebounding by Victoria Venus — first getting her own board to then earn a trip to the foul line, then two possessions later ripping down a tough defensive board to end the offensive set by the Bengals, which led to a trip to the charity stripe by Maddie Gillis who hit both to get SUNY New Paltz ahead by eight. Fitzgerald pushed the Hawks up by 10, crashing the boards for an offensive put-back with less than a minute to go. Van Vorst then added two more by half's end, picking off a bad cross-court pass and then finishing through traffic on the other end to get the halftime score to 36-24.  
"Once we got into our groove with our defense then we were able to play pretty well against them, but I think we definitely need to clean things up especially offensively running our plays, realizing when we're going too fast and when we need to slow the offense down and take advantage of the matchups we want inside and outside," Fitzgerald added.
 
Van Vorst kick-started the second half with a tough finish driving through the paint, taking contact and hitting on the basket and earning a trip to the line for the and-1. Serravillo then finished strong underneath on an inbounds play with bodies around her to push the lead, 41-28 early in the quarter. Korzekwinski added on for SUNY New Paltz with a shifty move on the block, hitting a turnaround jump-hook off glass to bring difference to 13.
 
Julia Sabatino got in on the action to start the fourth for SUNY New Paltz, swishing from the perimeter for her first points of the game. Good ball movement by the Hawks led to another triple with Gillis burying her shot from behind the arc. Morgan Hammell then created a 20-point cushion for the hosts, sinking a last-second attempt as the shot clock winded down to bring the score, 58-38 midway through the quarter. SUNY New Paltz then had its largest lead of 22 off a pretty feed by Hammell to a cutting Olivia Badura who laid in a reverse layup with 2:16 remaining.
 
Fitzgerald finished with a game-high 19 points in 26 minutes, shooting 8-for-13 with nine rebounds, two assists, three steals a block. Van Vorst followed with nine points in 15 minutes, adding four rebounds, three assists and a steal. Korzekwinski chipped in with seven points and six boards in 16 minutes, while Gillis had five points, four rebounds and a team-leading four assists in 18 minutes off the bench.
 
"I definitely think we played a cleaner second half," Fitzgerald said. "We had [16] turnovers in the first half that definitely was not our best but I think that's from us rushing and not settling down and not all on the same page, so that's definitely something that we will have to work on."
 
The win marked coach Jamie Seward's 296th of his career as the 16-year tenured coach works his way closer toward the 300-threshold with him becoming just the second coach ever in SUNYAC women's basketball history to reach the mark.
 
SUNY New Paltz will look to push Seward a step closer Saturday as it hosts Fredonia at 2 p.m. in the Hawk Center with its undefeated conference record also on the line.
 
"Every single game is important," Fitzgerald said. "We only have seven games left and we have to go into each and every one and worry about that day of play, that possession every single time and taking it day by day."

Post-Game Interview Featuring Brianna Fitzgerald


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