DANBURY, Conn. – Poor shooting and costly turnovers led to the State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team's (16-2, 10-1 SUNYAC) second loss of the season, as it was defeated by Western Connecticut State University (15-5, 7-2 Little East), 49-44, in non-conference action on Tuesday.
 
The Hawks shot just 27.4 percent on 17-of-62 shooting for the evening, while going 0-for-10 from three-point range. Though they forced 24 turnovers, they also turned the ball over 25 times, tying a season-high.
 
The first half was very much back and forth, as each team led three times. However, the Hawks could not extend their lead past one point, as the Colonials answered each time they lost the edge. Western Connecticut closed out the first half on a 12-2 run, taking a 26-17 lead into the locker room.
 
Tuesday night marked the 11th time in 18 games that the Hawks were behind at the half. Much like the majority of those 11 games, New Paltz opened up the second stanza with a big run to close the gap. The Hawks flew out to an 11-0 run to take a 28-26 lead in the first seven minutes of the half, but the Colonials battled back and took a two-point lead on Jackie Zilnicki's three at the 12:30 mark.
 
New Paltz did not go down willingly, keeping the deficit within five points and eventually tying the game at 41 with 2:27 remaining. Sciarra Brandt gave the Colonials the lead once again on a jumper, and then Western Connecticut succeeded on six consecutive free throws after the Hawks failed to score to put the game out of reach.
 
Freshman forward Michelle Valle (New York, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Science/Mathematics) picked up her second double-double in as many games, and her fifth of the season, with 13 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. Senior guard Kahsyrah Bryant (North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon) added nine points and four boards, while senior guard Maliqua Fisher (North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon) contributed six points and six rebounds.
 
Zilnicki led all scorers on the night, scoring 17 points for the Colonials. Brandt had nine points and six rebounds, while Carolina Brasa dished out a game-high six assists in the win.
 
Western Connecticut shot 31.3 percent on 15-of-48 shooting from the field. The Colonials held a significant advantage from the charity stripe, succeeding on 15-of-18 attempts (83.3 percent), compared to 10-of-17 (58.8 percent) for the Hawks.
 
The Hawks look for redemption as they return home to host SUNY Potsdam on Friday, Feb. 1. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. from the Hawk Center.