BROCKPORT, NY –  In a dramatic reversal of fortunes, the State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team rebounded from a 23-13 halftime deficit and got two clutch free throws from sophomore guardGoldie Harrison (Elmont, NY/Elmont Memorial) with six seconds remaining in the game to register a 55-54 victory over The College at Brockport in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play on Friday night in the Jim and John Vlogianitis Gymnasium.
 
The last eight seconds of the game were frenetic as Brockport's freshman guard Faith Welch made a pair of free throws with 8.3 seconds remaining to provide the Golden Eagles with a 54-53 lead, but the speedy Harrison drove the lane, was fouled with six seconds remaining and coolly connected on both free throws to help the Hawks earn a comeback victory.  
 
The victory lifts New Paltz to 6-18, 4-13 in the SUNYAC. Brockport drops to 9-15, 5-12. The Hawks will conclude the 2013-14 season with a road contest against SUNY Geneseo on Saturday at 2 p.m. Brockport hosts Oneonta at 2 p.m.
 
On January 25, Brockport handed New Paltz a 59-44 loss and after the Hawks managed just 13 points in the first half, it appeared as though the Golden Eagles would sweep the season series. But New Paltz methodically chipped away at a 10-point halftime deficit and after freshman forward Kit Small (Slingerlands, NY/Academy of the Holy Name) connected on two free throws with 12:05 remaining in the game, New Paltz trailed 34-31.
 
The game's star, Harrison, brought New Paltz into a 38-38 tie when she converted a layup with 9:40 left. Back-to-back layups from freshman forward Courtney Irby (Farmingdale, NY/Farmingdale) not only gave New Paltz its first lead since 19:09 in the first half, but also extended the margin to 42-39 at 7:56. A subsequent 3-pointer from junior guard Shannan Walker (Vestal, NY/Vestal) provided the Hawks with a 45-39 lead, its largest of the contest with 7:30 remaining.
 
The Hawks carefully protected the lead for the next five minutes, but Brockport was successful in whittling it down to 51-50 with 2:40 to play after senior forward Hannalee Fordyce connected on a layup. Fordyce provided the hosts with a 52-51 lead with 1:35 remaining, but Walker's two free throws pushed New Paltz back ahead 53-52 in what was becoming a seesaw battle in the final 90 seconds.
 
Neither team managed any scoring until a New Paltz foul put Welch on the line. She made two free throws in between a New Paltz timeout, but her heroics were undone by those made by Harrison only seconds later.
 
Walker's sharpshooting (4-for-7 from 3-point range) led the Hawks in scoring with 16 points. Harrison had 15 points and Irby notched 12 points along with a game-high 12 rebounds.
 
For Brockport, Fordyce and senior guard Alexandra Marshall each had 11 points.