NEW PALTZ, N.Y - Despite getting an open look at what would have been the game-tying three-pointer, the State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team dropped its 2014-15 home opener on Tuesday night to visiting Mount Saint Mary 69-66 at the Hawk Center.

With the defeat, New Paltz falls to .500 at 3-3 and will look to rebound in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) opening weekend on Dec. 5-6 at Plattsburgh and Potsdam. The Knights, meanwhile, move to 2-3 and will host Vassar on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 6 p.m.

The Hawks trailed by five points with 46 seconds remaining when junior Colleen Ames (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) knocked down a three to pull New Paltz within two (68-66). Mount Saint Mary then drew a foul on their next possession and converted the first free throw attempt.

But the next free throw was off target by the Knights and junior forward Courtney Irby (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) pulled in the board and kicked it down court to senior guard Shannan Walker (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) who unfortunately missed a three from the corner, which would have sent the contest to overtime.

Leading the way offensively for the Hawks was sophomore guard/forward Kit Small (Slingerlands, N.Y./Academy of the Holy Names), who recorded a double-double after scoring a game-high 18 points while pulling down a contest-best 14 rebounds. Ames joined Small in double figures, notching 12 points off the bench. For Mount Saint Mary, sophomore guard Marisa Delzio registered a double-double of her own with 13 points and 11 assists.

New Paltz forced 25 turnovers but Mount Saint Mary held a slight edge in points off miscues, 20-18. For the game, the Knights outshot the Hawks 43.6 percent to 31.6 percent despite being outmuscled on the boards 50-39.

The entire game was back-and-forth as New Paltz went ahead by just six points several times in the opening half, including holding a 35-29 lead with just 2:09 to play in the first. But the Knights went on a quick spurt to close the half and trimmed the Hawk advantage to 37-34 at halftime.

In the second stanza, the Hawks never led by more than five points which occurred when sophomore guard Tanysha Campbell (Bronx, N.Y./Intech Academy) hit a pair of free throws at 11:44 (50-45). But the Knights knotted the contest at 53 with 5:33 remaining and went on a 12-4 run in the next four minutes to go ahead 65-57 which proved just enough to hold off the Hawks.