University Heights, OH — The State University of New York New Paltz is onto the second round of the NCAA Tournament following a 67-51 first round win over Immaculata on the campus of John Carroll University Friday.
 
The Hawks (26-2) got out to a double-figure lead thanks to an 18-point first-half effort from senior Karly Wittenbauer with graduate guard/forward Brianna Fitzgerald closing out with 13 second-half points to keep the Mighty Macs at bay with a third quarter rally to cement the program's eighth NCAA Tournament win.
 
"Really pleased to continue the season and playing tomorrow," said SUNY New Paltz coach Jamie Seward. "It's a tough opponent. We knew they weren't going to go away. We opened up a little lead and they continued to fight back and made some 3's there to start the second half and tighten things up, but we were able to hold things down and make a couple plays. And, like I said, very happy to be playing tomorrow and keep this team alive for another day."
 
Wittenbauer and Fitzgerald each finished with a game-high 24 points with Wittenbauer adding 12 rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal in 37 minutes on 8-for-15 shooting from the field and 6-for-6 from the foul line, while Fitzgerald ripped down a career-high 17 rebounds to go along with a game-high six assists and three steals, shooting 8-for-16 from the floor and 7-for-8 from the foul line in 37 minutes.
 
"I think doing whatever we had to do," Wittenbauer said in the post-game presser. "We knew we had to beat them on the boards, obviously I was guarding a much bigger player, but points are nice and rebounds are nice, but a win is better. I'm just happy I did what I had to do."
 
Wittenbauer was the catalyst in the opening 20 minutes. She connected on three straight attempts to aid in an early 12-7 lead by the game's first media timeout, hitting on her typical mid-range game while also adding a make from the perimeter. Wittenbauer hit another from 3-point range off an inbound play following a great defensive sequence from Sierra Carter who got back on an Immaculata fast-break to earn a block for the turnover. Wittenbauer was the benefactor on the extra possession as she pushed the score to 15-9 with 2:30 to go in the quarter following the ensuing triple. Wittenbauer scored again within the last two minutes before the Mighty Macs hit on their first attempt since the four-minute mark in the final seconds of the quarter to trim the deficit to six entering the second period.
 
 
It was a low-scoring start to the second quarter with Fitzgerald laying in two on an assist from Hannah Vanderzee around the eight-minute mark for the first basket of the quarter, which also extended the advantage to 10 for SUNY New Paltz for the first time in the game. The Hawks hovered around an 11-point margin down the stretch, but Immaculata refused to go away and got within seven on a made 3-pointer with less than three minutes remaining in the period. Fittingly, Wittenbauer had the final say of the half, as she earned a trip to the line with her team in the bonus. The Edison, NJ native calmly drained both, allowing the Hawks to flex a 31-22 lead at the break. Wittenbauer finished an explosive half with 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting.
 
"I think just having that confidence," Wittenbauer said of her offensive performance. "I'm coming off two games where I shot the ball very, very poorly… and I think I shot the ball with the same confidence that I shot the ball with all year, maybe even more. So, just trusting what got me here and trusting that I'm a good shooter and let it fly. Two-for-three from 3 is pretty fun, I don't shoot many 3's so."  
Immaculata climbed back in to start the third quarter, as a 3-pointer ignited an 8-2 run within the first three minutes that brought the difference to three at 33-30. SUNY New Paltz missed its first 10 shots of the quarter, which allowed the Mighty Macs to get within one by the first media timeout following a make underneath by Carly Coleman (22 points) to trim the difference, 35-33. However, Fitzgerald willed her team back in the game with her prowess on the boards. Off a missed Kayden Cornell trey, Fitzgerald ripped down the offensive rebound, leading to another chance for Cornell from the arc. The freshman sank the following mulligan to help pad a four-point cushion. Fitzgerald immediately won the ball back with a steal in the open floor and laid two more for a six-point swing. Following a defensive stop, Fitzgerald once again out-hustled everyone on the court to snag another offensive board. The extra offensive set allowing the Hawks to swing the ball around and find Cornell once again from 3 with the Colonie, NY native swishing to re-establish a nine-point advantage for her side.
 
"We knew we had to out-rebound them today and that was something really big for me going into it," Fitzgerald said. "We knew that [Coleman] was a great offensive rebounder and that we had to keep them off the glass. That's something we pride ourselves in, just our relentless effort on the boards. I think that's something very difficult to play against, when you keep getting offensive rebound after offensive rebound, it's very hard to play against and continue that momentum and it gives our team a lot of momentum."
 
Vanderzee officially brought the difference back to double figures with 3:35 left in the quarter with Fitzgerald giving her team their largest advantage on finish off a pass from Vanderzee with less than a minute to go.
 
SUNY New Paltz hung on from there, as it kept the comfortable margin by hitting from the foul line. The Hawks finished the game 17-for-18 from the charity stripe, including 9-for-10 in the last 90 seconds.  
"I think that's a key statistic in any basketball game, out-scoring the other team from the free throw line," Seward said. "We made our free throws and they missed a bunch of them and sometimes it's like that, but whatever it takes to get us continuing to play. I think they would say the same thing, whether it's getting to the foul line or diving on a loose ball or doing whatever is necessary and fortunately, we shot the ball very well from the foul line today."
 
The Hawks were the superior team across the box score, as they out-rebounded the Mighty-Macs (43-24), shot better from the field (42% to 31%) and added more assists (14-8) as a team with Immaculata also struggling from the foul line, making just 8-for-18 in the game.
 
Cornell followed Fitzgerald and Wittenbauer offensively, adding seven points, a rebound and two steals. Vanderzee was also crucial on both sides of the floor, recording six points, four boards and five assists, while Carter ended with four points, five rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a steal.
 
"I think we were getting up the floor really well and having teammates that knock down shots, it's wonderful," Fitzgerald said. "Everybody across the board played really well today. We had a lot of people who this is their first time in an NCAA Tournament, so it was just so great to see them really play with confidence, shoot with confidence and have some fun out there."
 
The Hawks have an opportunity to survive and advance Saturday, playing hosting and No. 11 John Carroll who defeated TCNJ 84-49 in the night cap Friday night. The two teams will tip-off Saturday back in the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center at 8 p.m.
 
Post-Game Press Conference (featuring Jamie Seward, Karly Wittenbauer & Brianna Fitzgerald)


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