Last season, the State University of New York at New Paltz dropped a heart-breaking one-point contest to regionally ranked Vassar College to start the year 3-3 before rattling off 21-straight victories to another 25-plus win season where they made a second round run into the NCAA Tournament.
 
More than a year later, the Hawks are looking at similar circumstances — hoping to shake off a tough one-point loss, this time a 74-73 home defeat Dec. 9 against Ithaca College, and end 2023 on a high note as they enter the Steven Holiday Tournament Friday and Saturday.
 
"We talked about coming out in games and being more aggressive from the start and not letting them get the first jump," said SUNY New Paltz junior point guard Morgan Hammell. "We need to have that first attack because that's our strength and then we learned that we can't let it get down to the last play like the Ithaca game. We need to be all-in the whole entire game and be focused."
 
The Hawks open up the Stevens Holiday Tournament with likely the toughest opponent they'll face on the year in 2023 national runner up Christopher Newport before taking on NESCAC's Middlebury the following day.
 
The No. 3 nationally ranked Captains, coached by reining National Co-Coach of the Year Bill Broderick, enter the weekend undefeated at 12-0, earning top-20 wins over No. 18 Elizabethtown College, 81-68, and most recently, No. 17 Whitman College, 70-61, which came in the Music City Classic Dec. 20.
 
 
Christopher Newport is led by 6-foot, 1-inch senior forward Alivia Giles who averages about 12 points and seven rebounds per game, while shooting 62 percent from the field mostly in the paint. Starting alongside her in the frontcourt is fellow 6'1 big Hannah Kaloi who has averaged 8.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. However, senior guard Camille Malagar is the only other Captain other than Giles to start all 12 games and follows Giles offensively with 9.4 points per game, shooting 45 percent from the field and 33 percent from 3-point range, while averaging nearly three rebounds per game with a team-leading 10 assists and 15 steals on the year.
 
Christopher Newport's offense is spread evenly down its lineup, as 6'3 junior forward Hannah Orloff, who has made six starts, along with 5'9 sophomore guard McKenna Snively are both averaging above seven points per game, followed by 5'10 freshman combo guard Caitlin Crump who has totaled about six points per game to go along with 15 assists and 11 steals off the bench.   
As a team, the Captains are allowing just 55 points per game on 37.6 percent shooting from the field and 26 percent from behind the arc, while forcing nearly 26 turnovers per game. They use their size to their advantage, totaling most of their points inside the paint and in the mid-range, as they average 42 percent from the field and just 29 percent from 3, while recording more than 75 points per game. They also have controlled the game on the glass, out-rebounding their opposition 42-36 on the year.
 
"They're going to be really aggressive ball pressure. They're going to be athletic, they're big, they can score — we just got to attack them," Hammell said. "They're definitely good and they're going to be athletic, but we have our strengths and we need to use our strengths against them and we're going to attack where they're going to be weak, so we're going to look to focus on those things going into the tournament."
 
Following its matchup with Christopher Newport, SUNY New Paltz will face a 5-4 Middlebury College team who is coming off wins over Wheaton College and SUNY Plattsburgh. The Panthers finished last season at 15-11, losing in the semifinal round of NESCAC Tournament to Tufts University. Their four losses this season has come against Skidmore College (59-42), Framingham State (56-53), Springfield College (56-46) and Babson College (56-45).
Junior guard Alexa Mustafaj is the only player to start all nine games for Middlebury, as she carries the team offensively averaging nearly 24 points per game on 42 percent shooting from the floor and 28 percent from 3-point range, while recording about three rebounds per game with 13 assists and a team-leading 16 steals. Junior guard Kale Tornwini follows offensively with 8.6 points per game, hitting 50 percent from the field finding most of her success around the paint, while averaging five rebounds per game with nine assists, eight steals and seven blocks. Junior Augusta Dixon rounds out their top-scorers, as the 6'1 guard totals about seven points per game, while leading her team in rebounds (81), rebounds per game (9.0), assists (17) and blocks (12).
 
The Panthers average 61 points per game, while holding their opponents to less than 52 per contest on 36 percent shooting. They also shoot around 36 percent as a team and struggle from the perimeter at less than 23 percent.
 
"We're coming back to this intercession and the holiday tournament excited, aggressive and go in confidently. They're good teams, both Middlebury and Christopher Newport, but we're excited to go right at them," Hammell said.
 
The Hawks offense has been explosive in their first seven games, averaging 76 points on 38.1 percent shooting from the field and 31 percent from the arc. Defensively, they've allowed nearly 64 points per game, but continue to play high-pressure and force teams into 22 turnovers per game as they average nearly 13 steals a contest.
 
Senior guard Jenny Walton has had a career start, leading the team with 18 points per game on 34 percent shooting from the field, including 33.3 percent from 3-point range, while totaling six rebounds per game with 13 assists and 15 steals. She dropped a career-high 34 points Dec. 2 against Brockport, tied for second most in single game program history. Not far behind is preseason All-America pick senior guard/forward Brianna Fitzgerald, who has registered 17.7 points per game on 35.3 percent shooting to go along with a team-leading 6.4 rebounds per game, 24 assists, 22 steals and 10 blocks. She too totaled 30-plus this season, dropping 31 in an early season win over Vassar College Nov. 14. Fitzgerald is also close to reaching the 1,000-point milestone in just her third season, sitting at 959 points as she closes in on becoming the seventh Hawk in program history to enter the illustrious 1K club.
 
Senior guard Abby Korzekwinski adds 10.3 points per game on 55 percent shooting, while averaging nearly six rebounds per game with nine assist, 11 steals and four blocks. Hammell rounds out the scoring as the team's starting point guard, having a break-out year in her third season, totaling eight points and six rebounds per game with 27 assists, eight steals and four blocks.
 
"This weekend we're confident going into both Christopher Newport and Middlebury," she said. "We're going to have good practices, so we're ready to get two W's."
 
SUNY New Paltz is set to tip-off Friday at 7 p.m. against Christopher Newport in Hoboken, NJ and will return Saturday against Middlebury College at 7 p.m.

Preview Featuring Morgan Hammell


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