Geneseo Defeats Oneonta, 62-49, To Advance To SUNYAC Finals

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GENESEO, N.Y. – SUNY Geneseo senior forward Shannon McGinnis totaled 17 points and 10 rebounds for her 16th double-double of the season to lead the top-seeded Knights over No. 4 Oneonta, 62-49, in the semifinals of the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Women's Basketball Tournament, Friday.

Geneseo, winners of 16-straight games, will face No. 2 Cortland in the SUNYAC Championship scheduled to tip-off at 4 p.m. tomorrow in Schrader Gym. The Knights are making its fourth finals appearance in the last five years, their last title coming in 2011.

Geneseo swept the regular-season series with the Red Dragons, earning a 50-41 win at home (Jan. 13) before taking a 68-64 overtime victory at Cortland (Jan. 20). The last time the two teams met in the conference tournament was in the 2012 quarterfinals, which saw the Knights falling in overtime, 70-64.

Junior forward Allison McKenna had 12 points and 11 rebounds while junior guard Dana Cohan added 10 points in the victory.

At 17:40, a jumper by Red Dragons junior forward Caitlin Cariseo gave the visitors an early 7-0 lead. With 12:50 on the clock, senior forward Katie Peterson made a lay-up to cut the deficit to four, 12-8. Peterson finished the night with 10 points.

First-year forward Jillian Davis hit a jumper to give Cortland its largest lead, 16-8, with 11:34 remaining in the half. At the 5:14 mark, sophomore guard Bridgit Ryan made a jumper to give Geneseo its first lead of the game, 22-21, but the Red Dragons responded by scoring five-straight points to take a 26-22 advantage at 4:21.

Over the next three minutes, the Knights went on an 11-0 run to take a 33-26 lead with 1:14 on the clock. Oneonta hit a shot from long range in the final seconds but it was Geneseo taking a 35-32 edge into halftime.

At 16:45, Red Dragons senior center Sarah Longto made a jump shot to tie the game at 39. The Knights responded by going on 8-0 run to take a 47-39 lead at 12:22. The run was capped by a fast-break lay-up from sophomore guard Katie Durand.

Ahead 49-43 with 9:23 on the clock, Geneseo went on a 10-0 spurt that was capped by a lay-up from sophomore guard Kara Houppert to take its largest lead of the game, 59-43, at 5:00.