New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz closed out its 2024-25 regular season with a comfortable, 58-48 win over Oneonta Saturday in the Hawk Center.
 
With playoff seeding set for the Hawks, the game didn't determine anything but momentum heading into postseason play as their four graduating seniors — Morgan Hammell, Julia Sabatino, Abby Korzekwinski and Madison Mullman — played their final game in the Hawk Center. A place where the quartet hoisted a SUNYAC trophy and hosted two NCAA Tournament games. All four played major minutes in the win, highlighted by a double-double outing by Sabatino.
 
"Going into the day, even in the morning, going in for shootaround in our gym, it's a bittersweet feeling," Sabatino said. "It's been a long time coming, so I was kind of prepared for the moment, but you never really know how it's going to affect you when you're in the moment.
 
"I think there's just a lot of love that is going around," she added. "To my other teammates, Abby, Madison, Morgan, Brianna [Fitzgerald] who is unable to play this year, we're a tight-knit group and I just love these guys so much."
 
SUNY New Paltz took a 14-8 lead after the first quarter with Sabatino accounting for seven points in the opening 10 minutes. The Red Dragons hit on a pair of free throws to end the quarter to tighten the score to six entering the second.
 
Oneonta worked its way back in the second, tying the score at 18-all following a made 3-pointer with four minutes left. Neither team found the bottom of the hoop again until Abby Korzekwinski knocked down what in hindsight was a game-shifting triple with 2:20 to go with the score holding at 21-18 at the break.
 
 
The Red Dragons got within one early in the third, but a 7-2 run capped by a make from the perimeter by Mullman cushioned the Hawks lead to eight halfway through the period. Mullman swished again from behind the arc to re-create an eight-point lead with three minutes left. Hammell added two more, scoring immediately after subbing back onto the court to establish SUNY New Paltz's first double-digit advantage of the day. Korzekwinski stretched the run to nine unanswered to end the period, giving the Hawks a 41-27 lead going into the fourth quarter.  
Sophia Bonnell officially gave the hosts their biggest cushion, draining a 3-pointer off a dish from Sabatino three minutes into the fourth to push SUNY New Paltz up 17.
 
The Red Dragons chipped away and got themselves within 10 following an and-1 with four minutes to play. Hannah Vanderzee answered for the Hawks, as she worked her way inside to earn a pair of free throws where she made 1-of-2. Oneonta traded trips to the line where it also made one attempt before Sierra Carter netted a put-back to establish a 12-point lead for the hosts.
 
SUNY New Paltz stayed comfortably ahead from there. Oneonta worked within eight with about 40 seconds left, but the Hawks hung on thanks to two makes from the charity stripe by Hammell to ice the 10-point victory.
 
Hammell, the only true senior, was honored prior to the game and totaled five points and four rebounds in 18 minutes in her final game on her home floor.
 
"I love Morgan so much. She's such a hard worker, day-in-and-day-out that girl comes to practice and she's giving her 100 percent," Sabatino said. "It's bittersweet for us too, because we go at each other every single day at practice, because we're point guard versus point guard. That's just my girl and I'm super happy. She came into the game, played amazing today and I was just happy to be on the court with them at the end."
 
Sabatino, meanwhile, highlighted the afternoon, as she finished tied for a game-high 14 points on 5-for-14 shooting, while pulling down a career-high 15 rebounds to go along with two assists and two steals. Vanderzee also tallied a game-high 14 points, while adding four rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 24 minutes. Korzekwinski added eight points, six rebounds and a steal, while Mullman finished with five points and four rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench.
 
"I told [assistant coach Darren] Jackson before the game I was going to go out there and out-rebounded every single six-foot girl out there and that was just on my mind every single play," Sabatino said. "I was just like, I'm going to go get the ball every single play."
 
The Hawks end the regular season at 16-9 overall and 15-3 in the SUNYAC, securing a first-round bye as the No. 2 seed. They'll face the winner of No. 3 Oswego and No. 6 Oneonta in the semifinal round Friday at 7:30 p.m. at top-seeded SUNY Cortland.
 
"I'm super excited for next weekend," Sabatino said. "I think we have really good momentum that we've built up and I'm ready to play."
 

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