NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – A pair of free throws by senior forward Alex McCullough (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) with 12 seconds to go put the icing on the cake, as the State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team (11-0, 5-0 SUNYAC) improved upon its undefeated record with a hard-fought 59-56 victory over SUNY Cortland (3-7, 1-3 SUNYAC) in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) matchup at the Hawk Center on Tuesday evening.
 
McCullough was the driving force for the Hawks on Tuesday, scoring 23 points, pulling down seven rebounds and blocking four shots. She went 9-of-16 (.563) from the field, including 2-of-4 from three-point range and 3-of-4 from the free throw line. She added a pair of steals and an assist to her stat line as well.
 
The game was a battle from the opening tip, as neither team led by more than six. Tuesday's contest saw 11 lead changes and 10 ties. The Red Dragons pulled out to their biggest lead of the night after Megan Touhey was fouled on a successful layup, and sunk the subsequent free throw to put Cortland up by six at the 5:30 mark in the first half. McCullough shrunk the deficit to three a minute later with a shot from behind the arc. The Red Dragons went up by five on the next series, but McCullough answered again with a jumper from the baseline. After the Hawks knotted the game up at 34, Brittany Rando nailed a jumper with 21 seconds left on the clock to give the Red Dragons a two-point edge at the break.
 
Cortland held the lead for the first seven minutes of the second half before McCullough once again made a clutch shot to put the Hawks up by one. New Paltz never trailed again, answering first after each of the five ties forced by Cortland after that point, including a crucial three by freshman guard Shannan Walker (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) with 4:10 to go.
 
Senior guard Kahsyrah Bryant (North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon) tied McCullough with seven rebounds in the win, adding seven points and four assists as well. Walker also picked up seven points, dished out five assists and stole the ball four times. Freshman forward Michelle Valle (New York, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Science/Mathematics) pulled down a team-high nine boards and matched Bryant and Walker with seven points.
 
Touhey led the Red Dragons with 22 points on the evening, while Lindsey Minor followed with 12. Caysea Cohen equaled Valle for the game-high with nine rebounds and added five points.
 
The Hawks shot 38.2 percent (21-of-55) from the field in the win, getting the better of Cortland, which shot 31.3 percent (20-of-64). New Paltz was edged at the free-throw line, as Cortland shot 75 percent (9-of-12) to the Hawks' 52.6 percent (10-of-19).
 
The win pushed the Hawks' home winning streak to 13 games before three-straight road contests. New Paltz heads to SUNY Oneonta on Saturday, Jan. 12, to take on the defending conference champions in their sixth SUNYAC contest of the year. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.