NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – Senior guard Shannan Walker (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) scored a team-high 21 points as the State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team held off a second-half rally by Plattsburgh to defeat the Cardinals 74-66 at the Hawk Center on Saturday.
 
The Hawks move to 14-6 overall and have now won five-straight contests, all at home, and remain tied with Cortland for second place in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) with a 10-3 league mark. In fact, New Paltz has won its last eight games at the Hawk Center, holding an 8-1 mark. In 2012-13, the Hawks rattled off 11-straight home wins.
 
New Paltz hits the road on Tuesday, Feb. 10 to take on Oswego at 7:30 p.m. Plattsburgh falls to 9-11 overall, 6-7 SUNYAC, and are holding on to the number six seed currently. The Cardinals play at Cortland on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
 
New Paltz led by 13 points at intermission (39-26) but was outscored by Plattsburgh 40-35 in the second half, using several free throws down the stretch to hold off the Cardinals' rally.
 
Walker made four three-pointers in the contest and tallied four boards, two assists and one steal. Sophomore guard/forward Kit Small (Slingerlands, N.Y./Academy of the Holy Names) notched 17 points and pulled in seven rebounds while sophomore forward Courtney Irby (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) registered 15 points and a team-best nine boards.
 
Again, New Paltz led the turnover category, forcing 20 miscues and scoring 18 points off those mistakes. The Hawks' bench outscored the Cardinals' 22-11, with freshman guard/forward Laura Stuart (Levittown, N.Y./Division Avenue) freshman guard Sydney Pinn (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) scoring nine and eight points, respectively.
 
Plattsburgh held a 10-8 lead with 15:15 to play in the first half before the Hawks heated up and went on a 12-3 run over the next six minutes to take a 20-13 lead. New Paltz took a 28-17 edge following a pair of free throws by Stuart with 7:13 on the clock. The Hawks increased their lead to 14 (33-19) after a three by Walker with 6:28 to go and led by as many as 16 points at one time in the first stanza.
 
In the second half, the Cardinals would not go away quietly despite falling behind by 16 once again (50-34) after another long range shot by Walker with 13:52 remaining. After cutting the New Paltz lead to 10 (56-46), Plattsburgh went on a 7-0 spurt to get within three (56-53) with just under six minutes in regulation.
 
The contest went back-and-forth for the next several minutes before Plattsburgh once again got within three (67-64) with 43 seconds on the clock. Trying to get the ball back and play catch-up, the Cardinals were forced to foul New Paltz and the Hawks took full advantage as Small, Walker and Stuart all knocked in clutch free throws in the waning seconds to seal the victory.
 
For Plattsburgh, junior guard Allie Taylor netted a game-high 21 points while senior guard Brittany Marshall and junior forward Devona Paul scored 17 and 12 points, respectively. Paul enjoyed a double-double with 10 rebounds while senior guard/forward Misha Green also hauled in 10 boards.