The top two teams in the women’s basketball SUNYAC faced off in a battle for first place February 4 on Cortland’s Senior Day at the Corey Gymnasium in Cortland New York. The #2 Cortland Red Dragons took on the #1 New Paltz Hawk. New Paltz out hustled Cortland to win the game 64-46.
There were 400 people in attendance to watch the Red Dragons’ last home game, but unfortunately, they fell short. New Paltz started out a lot stronger than Cortland. New Paltz remains undefeated in their division and gave Cortland it’s only two losses.
The Cortland Red Dragons didn’t have a great start to the game. The Hawks led the Red Dragons 11-0 with just under four minutes remaining in the first quarter. Cortland was able to make a bit of a run closing the gap to 16-10 by the end of the quarter.
The Red Dragons again started off a little weak to start the second quarter allowing the Hawks to get the first six points. Their defense was lacking, they allowed the Hawks to drive to the hoop with little contestation.
Cortland came alive halfway through the quarter, becoming more aggressive on defense and offense, but it still wasn’t enough to take the lead, or stop New Paltz from scoring. The first half ended 34-25, a deficit the Red Dragons could surely come back from if they made the right adjustments.
Emily Morano, the senior starting guard for the Cortland Red Dragons said Head Coach Brooks saw that they were struggling defensively.
“Coach brooks at the half told us that we really need to lock in defensively,” said Morano. “We were struggling to stop their scoring drives, so to make it a priority to get stops on the defensive end was our best opportunity to try and get back into the game.”
Cortland needed to keep up the momentum they had going into the half if they wanted to stay in the game. Unfortunately, the third quarter is when the Red Dragons crumbled. Their shots weren’t falling, shooting at just 30% from the field. They couldn’t catch up to New Paltz’s speed to the basket.
Cortland couldn’t come back from their slow start and lost in their biggest deficit and lowest scoring game of the season. New Paltz remained in the lead for the entire game and Cortland couldn’t seem to get back in it. This was Cortland’s first home loss and their last time playing they’re for the season.
Brianna Fitzgerald was a powerhouse for the undefeated New Paltz team, scoring 31 points just a little less of half of the team points. Cortland had a difficult time defending her. The leading scorer for Cortland, Sarah Tully, had just eight points.
The loss didn’t do any harm to Cortland’s mindset. Casey Travers, a senior guard for the Red Dragons believes if anything it made them more determined.
“Our team’s mindset is to keep working hard in practice every day and compete to get us better and more prepared for the rest of the regular season and SUNYAC,” said Travers.
It is highly likely the Red Dragons will face the Hawks again in the SUNYAC championship game. Having lost to the Hawks twice already the team is still convinced the third time is the charm, and they are now more prepared having seen them twice.
“We need to play better team basketball next time we see New Paltz both offensively and defensively,” said Travers. “When we are moving the ball on offense and playing unselfishly and communicating on defense we are at our best.”
The Red Dragons have two more games left in the regular season before they are set to play in the semifinals at the Hawk Center February 24.