By Colleen Gonzalez
GENESEO – For the second-consecutive year, the No. 2 seed State University of New York at New Paltz women’s basketball team will face the No. 1 seed and host SUNY Geneseo in the 2017 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament championship game after downing No. 6 seed The College at Brockport, 64-48, in the semifinal round on Friday evening in Schrader Gymnasium.
This also marks the third meeting in four years between the Hawks and the Knights in the championship round. Both times the Hawks have defeated Geneseo, winning 64-53 in 2013 and 65-52 in 2016.
Tip-off for the SUNYAC final is set for tomorrow at 4 p.m.
Although Brockport (10-17, 8-10 SUNYAC) held a 35-33 edge in rebounds, New Paltz (17-8, 13-5 SUNYAC) shot 45.3 percent (24-of-53) from the floor, 70.6 percent (12-of-17) from the charity stripe, converted 14 points off turnovers and scored 34 bench points.
Leading the offensive charge for New Paltz was senior guard/forward Kit Small who posted 19 points, going 7-of-11 from the field and converting 4-of-5 from the line while adding two assists and three steals. Off the bench, senior guard/forward Morgan Roessler recorded 14 points and a team-high 12 boards, along with two blocks.
For Brockport, junior forward Lindsay Johnson recorded 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds while senior guard Faith Welch and sophomore guard Schyler Laux contributed 11 points and eight points, respectively.
The Hawks were hot out of the gate, taking hold of a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter and soon increased the gap as they outscored the Golden Eagles 21-9 in the second period for a 35-16 advantage at halftime.
The Golden Eagles slowly chipped away at New Paltz’s lead early on in the third period but the Hawks managed to remain ahead by more than 20 points. By the fourth quarter, Brockport was able to rope the score within 16 (64-48) but were unable to trim the deficit further as time expired and cemented a spot for New Paltz in the championship game.