Cortland Women Pull Away to Defeat New Paltz, 62-49

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CORTLAND, N.Y. - Cassidy Chapko (Valley Falls/Hoosic Valley) scored 15 points and Stephanie Rice (Duanesburg) added 13 points and seven rebounds as Cortland pulled away in the middle two quarters to defeat New Paltz, 62-49, in SUNYAC women's basketball action.

Cortland (5-6, 4-1 SUNYAC) will host Oneonta Saturday at 4 p.m., while New Paltz (5-5, 2-3 SUNYAC) will travel to Oswego Saturday, also for a 4 p.m. contest.

Chapko also finished with five rebounds and three assists. Alyssa Crosby (Brier HIll/Hammond) scored eight points, dished out three assists, and led the team with nine rebounds. Becca Krenzer (Pavilion/Batavia-Notre Dame) scored eight first-half points off the bench, all in the second quarter on 3-of-3 shooting from the field. Kristy Vitucci (Deer Park) finished with six points and seven rebounds, and Taylor Miller (Freeport) pulled down five rebounds and led the team with four assists.

Marion Dietz led New Paltz, the defending SUNYAC champion, with 15 points and seven rebounds, and Paige Niemeyer added nine points and seven boards.

The Red Dragons held New Paltz to 23 percent shooting from the floor, including 3-of-26 (12 percent) from 3-point range. The Hawks missed their first 16 attempts from the 3-point arc before finally connecting midway through the third quarter. Cortland shot 39 percent overall and 40 percent (6-of-15) from long distance.

Both teams struggled offensively in the first quarter with only a combined five field goals. Cortland led 8-7 at the first break and 22-18 with 2:31 left in the second before finishing the half on an 8-1 run to take a 30-19 halftime lead.

Cortland extended its lead to 23 points at 49-26 by outscoring the Hawks 19-7 in the third quarter. The lead was briefly as high as 25 points in the fourth and hovered in the 17-21 point range over most of the final eight minutes until New Paltz scored the last six points to create the final margin.