Box Score 

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – Sophomore guard Lindsay Bettke (Pelham, N.Y./The Ursuline School) hit a season-high 23 points to help the State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team upend SUNY Plattsburgh, 67-63, on Friday evening in the Hawk Center.

New Paltz climbs to 15-8, 12-5 SUNYAC and concludes its regular season tomorrow at 4 p.m. when it host SUNY Potsdam in the Hawk Center.

The Hawks maintained a slight advantage over the Cardinals in the fourth period but Plattsburgh managed to tie up the score, 52-all, with 5:38 left on the clock before taking off with the lead on a 7-0 run. New Paltz slowly chipped away at the deficit, bringing the score to 59-56 off a layup by senior forward Courtney Irby (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) but Plattsburgh responded in kind to keep the game in their favor.

With a little more than two minutes remaining in the game, Bettke sank a 3-pointer to make it a 61-59 score before freshman guard Paige Niemeyer (North Chatham, N.Y./Ichabod Crane) hit a layup in the paint to level the tally to 61-all. Niemeyer added three more points to push the Hawks ahead and were able to secure a 66-61 margin thanks to a pair of free throws by senior guard/forward Kit Small (Slingerlands, N.Y./Academy of the Holy Names). The Cardinals managed to score one last basket before freshman guard Sandi Harris (Georgetown, Texas/Georgetown) added one more free throw to secure the 67-63 victory for New Paltz.

The Hawks jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the start of the first period but the Cardinals quickly trimmed the deficit and briefly took a 9-7 lead before a Bettke layup leveled the score to 9-all. A back-and-forth battle ensued for the advantage, ultimately falling in Plattsburgh's favor as the Cardinals entered the second quarter with a 14-11 cushion.

The Cardinals held the lead throughout most of the second period but New Paltz was hot on their tail, never trailing by more than seven points, and ultimately settled for a 28-28 score at intermission. As the third quarter was underway, the teams continued to fight for the advantage with New Paltz taking the reins at the 4:01 mark (40-36). Despite the Hawks' best efforts, they could not shake off the Cardinals who would only trail by three (48-45) heading into the final stretch.

Two more New Paltz players scored double-digit points for the Hawks. Irby recorded 15 points off the bench, going 7-of-10 from the field, and pulled down a team-high nine boards while Niemeyer added 13 points.

For Plattsburgh, freshman forward Frannie Merkel and sophomore guard Annie Thompson scored 20 points and 18 points off the bench, respectively, to lead the Cardinals while Moe Jones posted 11 points. Defensively, freshman forward Taylor Clare pulled down a team-high six rebounds in the loss.