NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The top-seeded State
University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team (24-3)
secured its first-ever State University of New York Athletic
Conference (SUNYAC) title by defeating No. 2 SUNY Geneseo (20-7) in
the SUNYAC Women's Basketball Championship Tournament final on
Saturday, 64-53, on its home court at the Hawk Center.
In winning the SUNYAC title for the first time, the Hawks receive
the SUNYAC's automatic qualifier into the 2013 NCAA Division III
Women's Basketball Championship Tournament. This will be the Hawks'
first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Senior guard Maliqua
Fisher (North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon) earned the
tournament's Most Valuable Player award after recording a
double-double in the championship game with 10 points and 10
rebounds. Earning spots on the All-Tournament team were senior
forward Alex
McCullough (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) and freshman
forward Michelle
Valle (New York, N.Y./Manhattan Center for
Science/Mathematics). Rounding out the All-Tournament team were
Geneseo's Melissa Graham and Allison McKenna, and SUNY
Plattsburgh's Kathleen Payne.
The Hawks never trailed from the opening tip to the final buzzer
in Saturday's championship win. McCullough scored the first four
points of the game before Geneseo made its first basket. Valle's
jumper with 4:19 left in the first half gave the Hawks their
biggest lead of the game at 14 points, but the Blue Knights battled
back to cut the deficit to seven before the intermission.
McCullough opened the second stanza with a three, which was then
followed by a good jumper by freshman guard Shannan
Walker (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) to extend the lead to 12.
Geneseo fought back again, getting within four after a Nyisha Lewis
free throw, but a 9-0 New Paltz run put the score at 43-30 with
11:01 on the clock. The Blue Knights did not go away, as an Allison
McKenna jumper at 6:58 cut the Hawk advantage to just three points.
The Hawks turned up the defensive effort and did not let the Blue
Knights get any closer, eventually stretching the lead to 11 before
the buzzer went off and the crowd stormed the court in
celebration.
McCullough led the Hawks with 14 points in Saturday's win, while
Valle netted 11 and pulled down eight rebounds. Junior guard
Alyssa
Gratien (Syracuse, N.Y./Jamesville-DeWitt) picked up 10
points, while junior forward Jeanette
Scott had a career-high six steals.
Graham led Geneseo with 14 points on Saturday, completing the
double-double with 10 boards, while McKenna followed with 11 points
to earn themselves spots on the All-Tournament team.
The Hawks forced 27 Geneseo turnovers, while only committing 12 in
the win. This was a big difference maker in the game, as the Hawks
scored 21 points off turnovers to just nine for the Blue
Knights.
The NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Selection Show will air
at 2:30 p.m. on NCAA.com. New Paltz will see and hear its name
called for the time, while the Hawks' first round destination and
opponent will both be revealed during the show.