FREDONIA, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's basketball team stood tall on the road against Fredonia in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play and earned their second series sweep in a row as they won 59-51. The Cardinals got help from nine made threes with Selma Deisz (Bekkestua, Norway / Nadderud VGS) making four of those nine threes as she tied for the second-leading scorer for the Cardinals with 13 points.

Payton Couture (Redford, N.Y. / Saranac) led all scorers in points with 16 and tacked on 11 rebounds to go with her double-figure performance to record her fourth double-double of the season and her second in a row. Mya Smith (Wappingers Falls, N.Y. / Roy C. Ketcham) also notched double figures on the night with 13 points to go along with three rebounds and three assists. Imani Walcott (Albany, N.Y. / Albany) contributed to the overall Cardinal performance with eight points, seven rebounds, and two blocks while Deisz also contributed three rebounds and two steals to her 13-point performance.

For the Blue Devils, Grace Alexander led her team in points with 10 followed by Kyla Smith who had nine.

The Cardinals shot a solid 36.8% from the field and made 9 of 27 threes at 33.3% while the Blue Devils shot 32.8% from the field and made 5 of 14 threes at 35.7%. Though the Blue Devils shot the three at a better clip the Cardinals made more, helping them secure the victory. Both teams shot 50.0% from the line with the Cardinals making 8 of 16 and the Blue Devils 6 of 12. The turnover battle was close, but the Blue Devils had the slight edge 11-13 however the Cardinals came away with more points off turnover with 11 compared to the Blue Devils eight. The Blue Devils got more support from their bench with 24 bench points compared to six for the Cardinals.

Plattsburgh rises to 9-13 overall (6-10 SUNYAC) and will head back home to Memorial Hall as they host a SUNYAC weekend finale first matching up against New Paltz on Friday, Feb. 16 at 5:30 pm. Fredonia falls to 11-12 overall (6-10 SUNYAC) and heads on the road with a matchup against Oswego State on Friday, Feb. 16 at 5:30 pm.

The first quarter was closely contested as there were two lead changes. The Cardinals got on the board first with a jumper from Couture and shortly after Mary Culeton tied the game before Couture made another bucket and made the score 4-2 Cardinals with less than eight minutes to play. Payton Gilbert tied the game before Couture yet again made another jumper.  At the 3:31 mark, Allie Wandell made a three and gave the Blue Devils their first lead of the game 7-6 but it didn't last long as Walcott responded with a jumper that put the Cardinals ahead once again. The Cardinals closed the first with a 14-10 lead.

The second quarter saw the Cardinals go up by as many as 13 as they went into halftime with a 10-point lead. Walcott opened the second with a jumper followed by a jumper from Alexander. The Cardinals went on a 9-0 run from the 9:35 mark until the 5:24 mark and took their largest lead of the game so far at 13. Renee Park ended the run with back-to-back buckets that made the score 25-16 Cardinals. The Cardinals didn't let up as they still held a double-digit lead and went into halftime up 32-22.

Alexander got the third started with a jumper followed by a Deisz three that put the Cardinals up by double figures once again. The Blue Devils scored four straight points, but it was Deisz again with another three that made the score 39-29 with less than eight minutes to play. The Cardinals' lead held for the entirety of the third as they went up by as much as 14, which marked their largest lead of the game, on a layup from Couture at the 3:53 mark. The Blue Devils ended the quarter with back-to-back buckets that made the score 48-38 Cardinals after three.

The Blue Devils opened the fourth with four straight points before Couture made a three that made the score 51-42 Cardinals. A layup from Alena Wright cut the Cardinals lead to seven but Smith responded with a three that pushed the lead back to double figures halfway through the fourth. With less than a minute to go the Cardinals lead still held but it was cut to five. After Smith was intentionally fouled, she knocked down both of her free throws and put the game out of reach as the Cardinals held on to win 58-51.