NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – A seesaw battle in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action saw the State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team (3-6, 2-2 SUNYAC) fall by a narrow margin, 61-57, on Saturday afternoon against SUNY Oneonta (5-4, 4-0 SUNYAC) at the Hawk Center.

The Red Dragons led the Hawks by as many as 14 points in the first half before New Paltz came storming back in the second stanza. A layup by junior forward Alex McCullough (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) tied the game at 57-all with 52 seconds remaining in regulation, but Oneonta's Samantha Szkotak hit a backbreaking three-pointer with 34 seconds to go, off an assist from Alyshia Crawford.

The Hawks were led in scoring by McCullough, who netted 13 points on a 6-of-22 shooting day. Senior guard Caitlin Irwin (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) followed close behind with 12 points while also grabbing four steals. Senior forward Shanay Bradley scored 11 points while leading all players with 16 rebounds in a double-double effort. Senior point guard Kaitlin Clifford (Staten Island, N.Y./Curtis) also scored in double figures with 10 points.

Oneonta saw three of its players reach double-digits scoring totals: Crawford (11), Szkotak (10) and Kristin Pappalardo (10). Szkotak also brought down 10 boards to lead the Red Dragon rebounding effort. Grace Schilling matched Irwin's four-steal day.

The difference in the game came down to free-throw shooting. The Red Dragons shot 82.1 percent from the charity stripe, going 23-of-28. The Hawks finished the game with a 52.6 shooting percentage in their 10-of-19 performance from the line. Despite its victory, Oneonta (17-of-58, 29.3 percent) was outshot by New Paltz (21-of-70, 30.0 percent) from the floor.

The Hawks opened up the game with a quick layup from junior guard Maliqua Fisher (North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon), before Madison Slagle responded on the next possession with a three-point goal off a Szkotak assist. New Paltz took its second lead of the half on an Irwin layup with 18:58 remaining in the first half, but would not lead again until the second half. Pappalardo netted a layup after rebounding her own missed three-pointer to start a 10-2 run. That run, which gave Oneonta a seven-point lead at 15-8, saw its last points scored on a Szkotak layup with 12:02 remaining in the first. Buckets by senior guard Zoe Cohen (Brooklyn, N.Y./The Berkeley Carroll School) and McCullough temporarily broke up the Oneonta scoring attack, but not for long.

The Red Dragons then went on an 11-0 run, pulling ahead 26-12 with 5:30 left in the first stanza. The Hawks struggled to lower the lead, going into halftime down by seven, 32-25.

New Paltz came out of the break with renewed defensive vigor, only allowing one Red Dragon basket in the first five minutes and 33 seconds of the second half. The Hawks tied the score at 34-all on a Bradley free throw with 14:44 remaining. A Crawford jumper put the Red Dragons back up by two, but Irwin responded with a three-pointer to give New Paltz its first lead of the second half with 14:05 to go.

For the next few minutes, the lead changed hands three times, until Oneonta began to pull away again. The margin reached eight points in favor of the Red Dragons after two Gabi Regan foul shots with 7:40 remaining in regulation. New Paltz made another push with two Bradley free throws and a Clifford shot from behind the arc, getting within three points with 6:19 to go. The Hawks claimed another lead with 4:07 left when Irwin hit her third and final three-pointer of the afternoon, going up 51-50. After Fisher went 1-of-2 from the line in the next Hawk offensive possession, Slagle tied the game yet again with two made foul shots.

New Paltz claimed its final lead of the day on a McCullough layup with 3:06 to go, putting the Hawks up 54-52, but a Pappalardo trip to the line tied the game once more with 2:38 remaining. Pappalardo then hit what looked to be a dagger three-pointer with 1:38 to go, but the Hawks scrapped their way back with a McCullough free throw and an Irwin steal. Irwin was fouled with 1:01 to go, but missed both of her foul shots with Oneonta over the foul limit. Possession remained with New Paltz when the ball went out of bounds, and McCullough tied the game on a layup with 52 seconds on the clock.

The true backbreaking trey came from from Szkotak with 34 seconds to go, putting the Red Dragons up, 60-57. Irwin quickly tried her hand at a game-tying three-pointer, but was unsuccessful. A Pappalardo free throw brought the game to its final score of 61-57.

The Hawks will partake in one more matchup before the holiday break, traveling to Montclair, N.J., on Monday, Dec. 12 to take on non-conference Montclair State University. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.