Plattsburgh, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz won its 14th straight game and collected its seventh SUNYAC series sweep of the year after earning a 56-44 victory over hosting Plattsburgh Friday night in Memorial Gym.
 
The Hawks (22-2 overall, 16-1 SUNYAC) were backed by a dominant first half where they kept the Cardinals to only five made baskets with the hosts shooting less than 17 percent from the field on 5-for-23 from the floor.
 
Free throws on the opening possession gave Plattsburgh the initial lead, but after Karly Wittenbauer scored the first basket of the game for SUNY New Paltz, the Hawks stayed in front the rest of the contest. Sierra Carter gave the visitors its first 10-point cushion of the night on a triple midway through the first quarter to add onto what turned into a 16-point unanswered run for the Hawks. Kayden Cornell capped the stretch with a 3-pointer off an assist from Hannah Vanderzee with three minutes to go in the period, which jumped the lead to 15. Rosie Sculco gave the Cardinals their first basket of the game with less than two minutes to go before the team made another in the final seconds to trim the deficit, 18-6 entering the second.
 
Grace Koehler subbed in for her first minutes early in the second quarter and quickly helped bring her team the largest lead of the half after draining a 3-pointer off another dish from Vanderzee, upping the Hawks lead to 26-7 with about 6:30 left. SUNY New Paltz sustained the comfortable margin down the stretch with Wittenbauer connecting on a layup in the paint for the last points of the period to give her team a 33-15 advantage at the beak.  
The Hawks flexed a 20-point cushion midway through the third quarter thanks to another triple by Cornell with Wittenbauer credited on the find. Plattsburgh slowly worked to dwindle the deficit as the second half progressed getting as close as 10 with two minutes to go but never threatened to truly re-take control. SUNY New Paltz defense anchored down and forced three-straight misses from the Cardinals with Fitzgerald connecting on two last free throws to solidify the 12-point win.
 
Cornell led all scorers with 17 points in 30 minutes off the bench. She made a career-high 5-for-11 from 3-point range, finishing 6-for-15 from the field with six rebounds in 30 minutes off the bench. Fitzgerald tallied her 10th double-double of the year after finishing with 15 points — tying a career-high 13 makes from the foul line, going 13-for-14 from the charity stripe — and added 10 rebounds, two assists, two blocks and three steals. Wittenbauer followed, as she finished with 10 points on 5-for-10 shooting with eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks and three steals in 30 minutes.
 
SUNY New Paltz caps the regular season on the road Saturday, facing hosting Potsdam at 2 p.m.


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