NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – For the first time in 14 straight home games, the State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team (2-5, 1-1 SUNYAC) was defeated, 70-59, by Buffalo State (5-1, 1-1 SUNYAC) in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play on Saturday afternoon at the Hawk Center.

The Hawks controlled much of the tempo in the first 10 minutes of the game, but their 31 fouls led to 48 Bengal trips to the free-throw line. Buffalo State converted on 33 of these opportunities (68.8 percent), including 15 in the first half. New Paltz only converted on 15 foul shots all game, going 15-of-26 for a 57.7 free-throw shooting percentage. The loss marked the Hawks' first home defeat since Dec. 8, 2010, when New Paltz fell to then-No. 4 William Paterson University, 71-59. The last New Paltz home SUNYAC loss had been on Dec. 2, 2010, against SUNY Cortland, a stretch spanning 15 games.

New Paltz was led by two players in double figures, junior forward Alex McCullough (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) and junior guard Maliqua Fisher (North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon), with each scoring 11. Fisher led the team with seven rebounds, while McCullough was close behind, bringing down six. Senior point guard Kaitlin Clifford (Staten Island, N.Y./Curtis) and freshman point guard Shannan Walker (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) collected three steals each.

Buffalo State's Staci McElroy and Bianca Smiley each netted 16 points, leading all scorers. Smiley achieved a double-double by also grabbing 13 rebounds. Also earning a double-double was Hillary Kollar, scoring 14 points with 10 rebounds coming off the bench. Barb Kiliszek, who scored 12 points for the Bengals, led all players with six steals on the afternoon.

The Hawks jumped out to an early 4-0 lead on the strength of an opening jumper by McCullough and a layup by Fisher with 18:38 remaining in the first half. Smiley turned the tide on New Paltz, scoring five straight points via a free throw and two layups, giving Buffalo State its first lead of the evening, 5-4, with 17:12 left in the first. The teams traded buckets and leads until there was 9:48 remaining in the first stanza, when Kala Crawford hit a streaking layup in transition, putting the Bengals up, 16-12. Buffalo State did not trail again in the game.

The Bengals ended the first half on a 6-0 run, with layups from Kollar and Kiliszek, plus two freebies by Kiliszek with two seconds remaining in the half to send the Hawks to the locker room with a 37-23 deficit.

The Hawks did not help their chances coming out of the break, allowing the Bengal lead to swell to 19 points with 16:48 left. A Fisher layup got the ball rolling for the Hawks with 16:26 to go. Every time the Hawks started to chip away at the Bengal advantage, Buffalo State would answer with a run-stopper. Finally, with 7:15 to go, the Hawks made their move. A foul by Kollar sent senior guard Zoe Cohen (Brooklyn, N.Y./The Berkeley Carroll School) to the line. The long-tenured guard made both, and the Hawks forced a turnover just eight seconds later. Senior guard/forward Bridget Grover (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Holy Trinity) made the most of the opportunity, hitting a jumper in the paint with 6:52 to go, bringing the Hawks within eight. Cohen then nailed a three-pointer off a Kollar turnover, bringing the score to 55-50 with 6:13 remaining.

Yet another Bengal turnover led to a Fisher layup, making it a three-point game as the Bengals tried to stop the bleeding. Foul shots boosted their lead back to six before the Hawks made their final push for the lead. With 4:20 remaining, a Grover jumper went down, followed by a defensive stop, leading to a McCullough layup off an offensive rebound. This brought the Hawks within two, 58-56, with 3:44 left.

The Bengals answered with a Kollar layup, and before long, the lead had swollen back to double digits, with Buffalo State leading 66-56 with 1:51 to go. The Hawks could not lessen the lead back to single digits, eventually falling by a 70-59 final score.

Neither team shot particularly well, with New Paltz shooting 35.6 percent from the floor on 21-of-59 shooting, while victorious Buffalo State shot a lower percentage, 30.4, on 17-of-56 from the hardwood.

The Hawks continue their conference schedule and five-game home stand on Tuesday, Dec. 6, taking on SUNY Plattsburgh at the Hawk Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.