New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz collected a 60-41 win over visiting Oneonta Friday night in the Hawk Center to open up SUNYAC play.
 
The game was a low-scoring affair to start, but senior forward Karly Wittenbauer provided the spark off the bench to get the Hawks rolling. Checking in with six remaining in the first, Wittenbauer made an immediate impact scoring the first bucket of the game on a left-handed finish off the glass with Sierra Carter adding two more on a nice feed by Brianna Fitzgerald.

The Red Dragons took their first lead of the game with an and-1, but Wittenbauer answered with a steal and an open layup to re-up the one-point advantage. Oneonta countered with two straight baskets to help with a 12-10 lead entering the second.
 
SUNY New Paltz continued getting production from its bench, however, as Kayden Cornell backed an opening-half two from Hannah Vanderzee with a triple in the corner to establish an early 3-point cushion to start the quarter. An 11-0 run pursued capped by a steal from Wittenbauer that led to a fastbreak bucket from Fitzgerald. The Red Dragons broke up the spurt out of a media timeout, but SUNY New Paltz quickly answered as Cornell had a nice find to Wittenbauer to create a 25-14 difference with about 3:30 left in the half.
 
 
The Hawks controlled the rest of the game, as their defense overwhelmed the Red Dragons as they were held to just four points and one basket for the remainder of the half with Wittenbauer and Fitzgerald combining for a 6-0 run to end the half to extend the hosts lead, 33-18 at the break.    
SUNY New Paltz maintained the double-digit cushion throughout the second half, as it kept Oneonta to just three made baskets in the third quarter and 8-for-33 shooting in the second half. Fitzgerald gave her team the largest lead midway through the third quarter as two made free throws fatten the difference to 20.

Fitzgerald was the game's leading scorer, as she hovered around a triple-double after finishing with 20 points on an efficient 8-for-15 shooting with eight rebounds, six assists, three blocks and four steals in 34 minutes. Wittenbauer followed as she scored 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting with six rebounds, five assists, a block and four steals in 30 minutes. Vanderzee was the only other player in the game in double-figure points, totaling 10 on 5-for-12 shooting with four rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 25 minutes.
 
The Hawks scored 30 of their points off 21 Oneonta turnovers with the team holding the visitors to just 23.4 percent shooting from the field and 16.7 percent (3-18) from the perimeter with no Red Dragon scoring more than nine points on the night.
 
SUNY New Paltz improved to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the SUNYAC with the victory, while Oneonta dropped to 3-2 and 0-1, respectively. The Hawks have a slight hiatus until their next matchup, as they'll next compete at the Montclair Tournament Dec. 29-30 against Montclair State and Franklin and Marshall College.
 
 
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