Geneseo, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz took its first conference victory on the road against SUNY Geneseo. The Hawks overcame an early deficit and outscored the Knights for a final score of 71-56. 

SUNY New Paltz scored within the first minute of play with Julia Sabatino laying one in off a fast break. Geneseo quickly responded with four straight points, and the Knights would continue to both out-score and out-rebound the Hawks for the rest of the quarter. In the final seconds of the first, Brianna Fitzgerald scored in the paint to get SUNY New Paltz within one, but Geneseo scored once again, closing out the quarter in the lead 15-13. 

Going into the second, the Hawks offense began to flow, and the team put up seven points in the first three minutes of the quarter, eventually tying with the Knights at 20-20. SUNY New Paltz were successful from behind the arc, as the team hit five 3-pointers in the second, two of them from Madison Mullman. Between the hot shooting from the perimeter and consistently scoring in the paint, the Hawks took the lead. Fitzgerald bookended the half with two made free throws, and the score going into halftime was 39-29 in favor of SUNY New Paltz.

The Hawks came out from halftime with even more energy than they finished the first with. Jenny Walton opened the quarter with a layup assisted by Sabatino, followed by a trey from Morgan Hammell, increasing the lead to 44-32. Fitzgerald sank three free throws in a row, before the team suffered a four-minute scoring drought. Semaiah Williams started up the offense with a made shot from inside the paint, and Walton continued the momentum with two made threes. The Hawks finished the third leading the Knights by 16 points, 57-41.
The fourth quarter proved to be tough for SUNY New Paltz, as Geneseo came out on fire, scoring 11 points, only answered by two-points from the Hawks, which shortened the score gap to a mere five points, 59-54 with SUNY New Paltz in foul trouble. The Hawks stayed consistent though, and didn't let the Knights regain the lead, holding them off until the final buzzer sounded. The score read 71-56 and SUNY New Paltz came out with the victory and a 1-0 conference record. 

Fitzgerald led the charge with 16 points, four steals and one block. Hammell followed with 13 points and four assists. Williams grabbed six rebounds and put up six points, and Mullman added nine points for the team. 

The Hawks return to action Saturday, traveling to face SUNY Brockport. Tip-off is at 2 p.m. 

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