Vassar Brewers Topped By Undefeated Williams

By Ryan Novitsky

NEW PALTZ – Four players finished in double-figures for the State University of New York at New Paltz women’s basketball team as the Hawks handed visiting SUNY Oneonta a 61-48 defeat on Saturday afternoon at the Hawk Center in SUNYAC action. With the win, the Hawks still trail the Red Dragons, 13-10, in the Catskill Cup rivalry.

Both senior guard/forward Kit Small and senior forward Courtney Irby scored 14 points to lead New Paltz (5-4, 2-2 SUNYAC), and combined for 17 rebounds and eight assists.

Sophomore guard Lindsay Bettke tallied 12 points behind four three-pointers while senior guard/forward Morgan Roessler notched 10 points and eight boards in 27 minutes of action.

The Red Dragons (5-4, 2-2 SUNYAC) were led by Cara Adams, who scored 13 points, and Alexa Amalbert, who grabbed 12 rebounds.

New Paltz did not start the first quarter as planned, trailing Oneonta 10-4 with 5:50 to go. But the Hawks countered with a 6-0 spurt, capped off by a three from Bettke to knot the contest at 10-10. The opening period ended deadlocked at 15-15.

The second stanza was friendlier to the Hawks as the home team went ahead by six, 25-16, with 2:54 to play before halftime. However, the Red Dragons responded on a 9-0 run before break to tie the contest at 25-25 going into intermission.

The Hawks began the second half on a 7-0 tear as Roessler and Irby both knocked down buckets to give New Paltz a 32-25 lead. Oneonta climbed to within two (33-31) but the home team didn’t back down and claimed a 38-33 edge going into the final quarter.

The fourth quarter was kind to New Paltz as the Hawks extended their advantage to nine points (50-41) with under four minutes to play. Key free throws down the stretch by Small and Irby iced the important SUNYAC win for New Paltz.