GENESEO, N.Y. - SUNY Genseo junior forward Shannon McGinnis scored 13 points and added nine rebounds while first-year guard Katie Durand added 13 points to lead the Knights to a 61-58 victory over New Paltz in their regular-season finale, Saturday afternoon.
The Knights (18-6, 12-5 SUNYAC) clinch the third seed for this coming week's SUNYAC Tournament, where they will host sixth-seeded Fredonia in a quarterfinal game on Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m. The winner will advance to play second-seeded Buffalo State on Friday at 6:00 p.m. in the semifinals, hosted by top-seeded Plattsburgh.
"You have to give this group credit - they've learned how to win close games and that's a reflection of this team's character," said head coach Scott Hemer. "Our bench combined for more than half our points and that was huge for us. Having that kind of depth has been key all season and paid off today."
Geneseo quickly jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first three minutes on three pointers by McGinnis and sophomore guard Dana Cohan and a three-point play by sophomore centerAllison McKenna. The Hawks would answer with a 14-4 stretch to take a 16-13 edge at 10:53.
A pair of free throws by junior center Katie Peterson at 9:37 would put the Knights back ahead, 17-16, but New Paltz would forge ahead with an 11-5 spurt to lead by six, 27-21, at 2:11 and carry a four-point edge, 30-26, into halftime. Hawks' guard Goldie Harrison would connect on a three-pointer with 10 second on the clock to finish with 14 of her 17 total points of the day in the first 20 minutes.
In the second half, Geneseo would regain the lead, 34-32, on a jumper by Durand at 16:29, but New Paltz would have an answer for three-straight Geneseo field goals before taking a lead, 41-40, at 11:13. The Hawks looked to pull away, using a 13-3 outburst to take their largest lead of the game, 54-43, with 6:05 remaining in the game.
However, a pair of of Durand free throws kick-started a 15-0 run, including seven point by first-year forward Katie Vienneau, that put the Knights back in the lead for good, 58-54, with 48 seconds to play.
A Cohan three-pointer capped the run, but a three-ball by New Paltz's Shannan Walker, pulled the visitors back within one with 34 seconds remaining. A Knights turnover would lead to Harrison heading to the free throw line after a Geneseo foul, but she only made the front-end of the trip to tied the game, 58-58, with 25 seconds to play.
On the ensuing possession, McGinnis would get free for a layup and head to the free-throw line after a Hawk foul with two seconds on the clock. McGinnis would sink the free throw to put the game out of reach as New Paltz was unable to get a shot off as time expired.
McKenna would finish with seven points and 12 rebounds, while her four blocks tied the Geneseo career mark of 115 established by Mellissa Graham '13 a season ago.
Geneseo defeated Fredonia twice during the regular season, picking up a 81-70 home win on Jan. 24 before taking a 66-57 decision on the road on Feb. 14.