SUNY Hawk’s Basketball Routs SUNY Morrisville

By Amy Whitman

MORRISVILLE – After coming up short against the Cortland Red Dragons, the State University of New York at New Paltz bounced back with a dominant win over the Morrisville Mustangs on Saturday, defeating the hosts 58-41.

The Hawks led nearly the entire game, with Morrisville only holding the advantage for 1:41 of the 40-minute contest. The emphatic victory elevates the Hawks to 9-2 overall and 3-1 in the conference, while the Mustangs drop to 1-11 and 0-5 in the SUNYAC.

After causing a turnover from the Hawks, Morrisville struck first with a made triple for the early 3-0 lead. However, SUNY New Paltz answered back with a basket by Karly Wittenbauer off a sneaky pass from Brianna Fitzgerald. Just moments later, Fitzgerald added her two cents and drained two free throws following a shooting foul under the basket, propelling the Hawks to a 4-3 lead.

Following a made free throw from the Mustangs, Wittenbauer hit a cutting Macie Perry, who easily lay one in to regain the lead, 6-4. Perry continued to produce on offense near the end of the quarter, scoring the last five of SUNY New Paltz’s points of the quarter, earning her a career high of nine points in only nine minutes of action in the first.

Throughout the start of the game, the Hawks benefited from pressure caused in their full-court press, but struggled to stop the Mustangs in the half-court. However, the defensive energy changed when Deanna Barry took a decisive charge under the basket, which translated into a basket for the freshman on the other end, giving the Hawks an 11-8 lead.

By the end of the quarter, SUNY New Paltz was in full control of the game and went to the bench up 16-10.

The Hawks continued to soar in the second, sparked by two straight baskets by Wittenbauer, both stemming from offensive rebounds. Summer Perry added on with a made lay with just over seven minutes remaining in the half before Morrisville called a timeout to end the run.

Out of the break, Morrisville drained a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 22-15, but the score did not spark any production from the hosts, as over a minute passed before either team could score again. Fitzgerald ended the drought with two made free throws and benefited under the basket again off a dime from Kamryn Hoyt to extend the Hawks’ lead, 26-17.

Fitzgerald tacked on four points to SUNY New Paltz’s advantage, and Morrisville had multiple opportunities at the end of the half to chip away at SUNY New Paltz’s growing lead, but could not find the bottom of the basket until 30 seconds remained. Jessalyn Jones sank two free throws to end the quarter, and the Hawks headed into halftime with a secure 30-19 lead.

Wittenbauer profited under the basket for SUNY New Paltz’s first points of the half, collecting an offensive board before netting a layup to extend the Hawks’ lead. Vanderzee soon after got her first score of the contest with a fast break layup off a steal to put SUNY New Paltz up 36-19. The Hawks took advantage of the positive momentum and scored seven more consecutive points, capped off by a made triple by Macie Perry, before Morrisville was forced to use a timeout.

The break did not stop the Hawks, who continued to run on the hosts. With five minutes remaining in the third, Morrisville put up its first points of the half when Anyssa Ingersoll netted a 3-pointer off a forced turnover on the other end. Ingersoll was the Mustangs’ driving force all game, scoring 15 alongside Jones, who combined with Ingersoll for 30 of Morrisville’s 41 points.

Although SUNY New Paltz continuously changed lineups throughout the third, they continued to outscore the hosts and ended the quarter netting 22 compared to the Mustangs 10 and entered the fourth up 52-29.

Morrisville started off hot to begin the fourth, scoring eight unanswered points in the first four minutes of the quarter, but were interrupted by a made free throw from Fitzgerald. Wittenbauer followed with a field goal and two from the line to pad the Hawks’ strong 57-35 lead.

The Mustangs attempted to muster a comeback in the time remaining, but SUNY New Paltz continued to control the game defensively and only let Morrisville score six points for the rest of the game. The buzzer sounded with the Hawks on top, 58-41.

Fitzgerald and Wittenbauer led on the day, the pair registering their third and second double-doubles of the season, respectively. Fitzgerald put up 16 points, 12 rebounds and two steals, while Wittenbauer registered 14 points, 10 rebounds and two assists on the day. Macie Perry followed with a career-high 12 points, three assists, and two rebounds, and the success stayed in the family as sister Summer Perry earned six points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Kayden Cornell also registered her first career start as a Hawk and added two points, two assists and a block to the stat sheet.