CORTLAND, N.Y— The SUNY Cortland women’s basketball team continued its strong season Saturday night, topping Oswego State 66-43 to reach 20 wins for the fifth time in six seasons, making them a staple as one of the best teams around. This also marks another milestone for the Red Dragons in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play.
Cortland (20-3, 15-1 SUNYAC) took charge early and never trailed, using a balanced offensive effort and tenacious defense to pull away from the Lakers (9-14, 7-9 SUNYAC) at Oswego. The victory keeps Cortland tied for first in the SUNYAC standings with New Paltz, with just two conference games remaining in the regular season.
Joleen Lusk (Cherry Valley/Cherry Valley-Springfield) led the Red Dragons with 15 points and seven rebounds, anchoring a diversified scoring attack that saw six Cortland players reach the scoring column. Brooke Tillotson (Marathon) added 14 points with seven rebounds and three steals, while Jackie Funk (Penfield) chipped in 12 points and six boards.
Point guard Kaeli McAnally (Islip) orchestrated the offense, setting a career high with eight assists, and was one of five Red Dragons scoring nine points or more. Sophie Bissaillon (East Greenbush/Columbia) connected on three 3-pointers and finished with nine points and four rebounds, and Sam Dembinsky (Wallkill) contributed nine points on efficient shooting.
Cortland opened the game on a strong note, building an early lead and setting the tone on both ends of the floor. The Red Dragons held an 18-10 advantage after the first quarter and extended their margin in the second, closing the half with a dominant 10-0 run to lead 37-18 at intermission. Cortland continued to control the pace in the second half, keeping the Lakers at bay and maintaining a double-digit lead throughout the final two quarters.
Defensively, Cortland forced turnovers and limited Oswego’s opportunities from long range, holding the hosts to a 34 percent field goal percentage and just 1-for-12 from the 3-point line. Holding the opposition to shooting splits of this degree is a large reason why the Dragons were able to get to 20 wins in February. Free throws also proved a strength for the Red Dragons, who went 14-for-20 from the line.
Giavanna White-Principio was the only Oswego player to score in double figures with 10 points and led the Lakers with seven rebounds. Bri Weaver added nine points and four steals for Oswego, but the team struggled to find consistent scoring against Cortland’s pressure defense. A common theme of teams that have had to face Cortland’s lockdown defense.
With the win, Cortland is poised for a late-season push toward a SUNYAC regular-season title and top seed heading into the conference tournament. The Red Dragons travel to Fredonia next Tuesday before heading to Morrisville Saturday, closing out the regular season. If Cortland and New Paltz both go 2-0 in their final league games, the top seed would be decided by the SUNYAC tiebreaker formulas and NCAA power index rankings.