New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz improved to 3-0 on the season after earning a 76-58 win over visiting Mount Saint Mary College Tuesday in the Hawk Center.
 
Both teams struggled finding the bottom of the hoop off the tip until Julia Sabatino gave the Hawks the opening lead two minutes in and the hosts never trailed from that point forward as they quickly flexed a double-figure lead within a three minute stretch. The stretch started on a steal by Sabatino, which was followed with a fast-break bucket by Jenny Walton. Brianna Fitzgerald then connected next time down the floor in the point and Morgan Hammell brought the lead to 15-4, capitalizing with a trey after a steal by Abby Korzekwinski on the defensive end.
 
SUNY New Paltz saw its lead stretch to as many as 13 in the first quarter, following a steal by Hammell which led to a Sabatino 3-pointer with the Hawks moving the ball well around the perimeter to find the open look. However, the Knights, led by first-year coach and SUNY New Paltz alumna Marion Dietz, continued grinding and ended the period with back-to-back trips to the foul line to get within 11 by the end of the quarter.
 
The Hawks regrouped between periods and continued rolling in the following 10 minutes, propelled by their tenacity on the offensive glass led by senior forward Semaiah Williams off the bench. The 5-foot, 11-inch Williams ripped down four offensive rebounds to go along with a team-high eight rebounds in the game — two of which came on the same play, as she helped her team to the largest lead of the half after a put-back off her own shot attempt with less than two minutes to go. Mount Saint Mary scored the last points of the period, however, and trimmed the score to 37-22 at halftime.
 
"We went in at halftime and talked about our effort on defense and how we needed to communicate better on our switches and off ball we were kind of lacking focus," said Hawks freshman guard/forward Hannah Vanderzee. "I feel like when we came in the second half, we focused more on our attention to detail."
 
 
Dietz had her team focused out of the break, as the Knights slowly chipped away at the double-figure deficit and got within seven three minutes into the third period. However, midway through the period, SUNY New Paltz countered with a 12-0 run capped with a make behind the arc by Hammell that brought the advantage to 19 at 55-36 with three minutes left in the period.
 
SUNY New Paltz went into the fourth with a 17-point cushion and held off Mount Saint Mary in the final 10 minutes as the closed out the 18-point victory.  
The win was a team effort as all 10 Hawks on the roster scored points in the game with four in double-figures. Fitzgerald tied a game-high with 14 to go along with six rebounds, three blocks, three steals and two assists. Walton followed with 13 points, six rebounds, three steals and a career-high five assists. Hammell finished with 11 points, four rebounds, an assist and three steals, while Vanderzee had a career day in just her second collegiate game. The Ravena, NY native was productive in 10 minutes off the bench, recording 10 points, six rebounds and one block to round out SUNY New Paltz's offense on the night.
 
"Stepping on the floor tonight, I definitely felt more comfortable," Vanderzee said. "The girls on the team have just told me that I need to play my own game. They've pushed me this far and tonight I just let go and played like I know I can play."
 
Overall, the Hawks and Knights both shot close to 40 percent from the field, but SUNY New Paltz out-rebounded Mount Saint Mary, 46-40, including 19-9 on the offensive glass, while forcing 29 turnovers on 21 steals. The hosts scored 29 of their points off turnovers and 24 on the break.
 
"I think our focus in practice and attention to little details and correcting our mistakes from the previous game has allowed us to keep pushing forward and not dwell on the game before," Vanderzee said.
 
The Hawks are back in action Saturday for their last game of the month on the road against New Jersey City University. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Post-Game Featuring Hannah Vanderzee


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