BUFFALO – Despite holding a five-point lead at halftime, the State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team (9-8, 7-3 SUNYAC) was unable to hold off Buffalo State (15-2, 8-2 SUNYAC) in the second half, as the Hawks lost by a 62-51 final in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action Friday night at the Buffalo State Sports Arena.

The setback snaps the Hawks' six-game win streak, which began on Jan. 4 against Eastern Connecticut State University.

Buffalo State controlled the tempo early, and a jumper by Staci McElroy at 11:13 of the first half made the score 19-10 in favor of the Bengals. New Paltz clawed back, though, and a 12-2 run behind four points from senior point guard Kaitlin Clifford (Staten Island, N.Y./Curtis) and sophomore point guard Pippa Mansdorf (Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y./Hastings) tied the score at 26-all. The Hawks closed the half on a 10-5 run, and a jumper by Mansdorf at the buzzer gave the Hawks a 36-31 lead at the break.

Senior guard Caitlin Irwin (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) pushed the New Paltz advantage to seven twice in the opening two minutes of the second stanza, but the Bengals tilted the momentum in its favor. Midway through the second half, the margin stayed within four points, first in favor of New Paltz before going the way of Buffalo State. A three-pointer from Clifford drew the Hawks within one point (50-49), but the Bengals closed the contest on a 12-2 run to claim the victory. New Paltz was held scoreless for 7:45 before Mansdorf hit a layup with six seconds remaining.

While the Hawks shot 37.5 percent (21-of-56) from the floor, they shot just 14.3 percent (2-of-14) from long range and were outrebounded by a 45-33 edge. The Bengals capitalized on their trips to the free-throw line, going 17-of-21 (81 percent), while the Hawks shot at a 58.3 percent (7-of-12) clip from the charity stripe.

Mansdorf led New Paltz in scoring with 10 points coming off the bench in 11 minutes of action. She shot efficiently from the field, going 4-of-5 from the floor and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. Clifford chipped in with nine points, while senior forward Shanay Bradley (Bronx, N.Y./New Explorers) and junior forward Alex McCullough (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) added eight points apiece. Irwin dished out a game-high-tying three assists and pulled down five boards, while sophomore forward Jeanette Scott (West Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon) collected two blocks.

Four Buffalo State players reached double figures, with Bianca Smiley leading the way with 14 points to go along with her game-high 11 rebounds for the double-double. Devine Sebuharara and Barb Kiliszek dropped in 12 points each, while Staci McElroy registered 10. Kiliszek caused problems for the Hawks with four steals, and she, along with Kala Crawford, tied Irwin for the game-high total in assists with three.

New Paltz looks to get back to its winning ways tomorrow afternoon, as it takes on SUNY Fredonia at 2 p.m. in a league contest.