Feb 22, 2011
CORTLAND, N.Y. – Junior Brittany Cohen (Fayetteville/Jamesville-DeWitt) scored 20 points, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 2:28 remaining, as Cortland rallied to defeat visiting Buffalo State, 66-57, in the SUNYAC women's basketball tournament quarterfinals.
Cortland (19-6), the fourth seed, will play at top-seeded Geneseo in the semifinals Friday at 8 p.m. The other semifinal matchup, also at Geneseo, features second-seeded Oneonta and third-seeded New Paltz Friday at 6 p.m. The championship game is Saturday at 4 p.m. at Geneseo. The semifinal pairings are the same as last year, when then-host Cortland defeated Geneseo in the semifinals and New Paltz in the finals to win the conference title.
Buffalo State, the fifth seed, ends the season with a 15-10 record. The Bengals were making their 26th SUNYAC tournament appearance and are now 6-6 in conference tournament play versus Cortland.
Cohen also led the Red Dragons with eight assists. She was 6-of-9 from the floor, 3-of-4 from three-point range. Junior Megan Maycumber (Syracuse/Jamesville-DeWitt) finished two blocked shots shy of a triple-double. She scored 15 points, also on 6-of-9 shooting, and recorded career highs of 12 rebounds and eight blocked shots.
Senior Jennifer Patten (Bainbridge/Bainbridge-Guilford) finished with 14 points, junior Molly Byrne (Syracuse/Bishop Ludden) added seven points, five rebounds and four assists and junior Micki Volpini (Newfield) totaled six points, five rebounds and six steals.
Buffalo State sophomore Staci McElroy (Saratoga Springs) led all scorers with 26 points and also finished with eight rebounds and five steals. Sophomore Sarah Thompson (Delmar/Bethlehem) scored 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting and senior Dee Layne (Brooklyn/East NY Family Academy) totaled nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Cortland dominated the game's first 13 minutes and led 25-9 with 7:34 left after a Maycumber free throw. The Bengals responded with an 11-0 run, with McElroy scoring seven of the points, to close within 25-20 with 4:23 left.
Cortland led 33-27 at halftime, but the Bengals quickly tied the game at 35-35 with 16:30 remaining. The teams were tied at 43-43 five minutes later before a Thompson layup and a Barb Kiliszek (Depew/Lancaster) three-pointer put Buffalo State up by five. Patten answered with a jumper, but McElroy nailed a trey with 9:52 left and the Bengals owned their largest lead at 51-45.
The Red Dragons held the Bengals scoreless for more than four minutes and slowly whittled down the deficit. Cohen's layup with 8:37 left pulled Cortland within one, but neither team scored again until Kiliszek hit a foul shot with 5:22 on the clock to give the Bengals a 52-50 lead. Cortland eventually regained the lead at 53-52 on two Volpini free throws with 3:29 left, but Layne's jumper at the 3:14 mark and her free throw with 2:48 left gave the Bengals a two-point lead.
Cohen hit a three-pointer – Cortland's first trey of the half – from the top of the key with 2:28 left to put the Red Dragons up one, and Byrne hit a three-pointer two possessions later to increase the margin to four with 1:23 left. Buffalo State missed two shots on its next trip down the floor and Volpini hit two foul shots with 55 seconds left to give Cortland a six-point edge.
McElroy's shot with 42 seconds remaining kept the Bengals within striking distance, but Cohen hit a foul shot with 40 seconds left and Maycumber and Patten each sank two free throws in the final 26 seconds to create the final margin.
Cortland is making its 17th straight SUNYAC tournament appearance and 26th in the last 27 years. The Red Dragons are looking to advance to the league title game for the 11th time in head coach Jeannette Mosher's 13 seasons. Cortland has won seven SUNYAC titles, including five under Mosher (1999, 2000, 2004, 2007 and 2010).