GENESEO, N.Y. - SUNY Geneseo sophomore guard Dana Cohan scores a team-high 15 points and dishes out seven assists to lead the Knights over visiting Oneonta, 56-46, in a key State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) women's basketball matchup, Friday.
With the victory, Geneseo (18-6, 12-5 SUNYAC) clinched no lower than the fourth seed and a first-round home game for the upcoming SUNYAC Tournament, while a victory over New Paltz on Saturday (2:00 p.m.) in the regular-season finale would bump the Knights up to third place. Either way, Geneseo will host a to-be-determined opponent on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.
"Turnovers were frustrating for all of us so we'll have to make that more of a focus tomorrow," said head coach Scott Hemer. "With that said, a defensive effort like that can cover up a lot of those mistakes this time of year and there is something to be said for that."
The Knights would jump out to a 17-10 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game that they never trailed. Oneonta (17-7, 11-6 SUNYAC) would close to within one following a 6-0 spurt over the next two-and-a-half minutes, but Geneseo would answer with a 7-0 run of its own, punctuated by an old-fashioned three-point play by junior guard Biz Reinhardt, with 5:37 to play in the half.
A seven-point Knights lead at halftime, 29-22, would quickly turn into a 13-point advantage following a 12-2 outburst by the home team at 16:45. While Geneseo would grow its lead to 15 points, 45-30, at 9:40, the Red Dragons would make it a game with a 13-2 run to get within four, 47-43, with 4:52 remaining in regulation.
Cohan would score the Knights' next seven point, starting with her third strike from long range at 4:25, before hitting two free throws at 3:41 and a jumper at 2:53 that gave the host team an eight-point cushion, 54-46, that proved insurmountable.