GENESEO, N.Y. – The third-seeded State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team's season came to an end Friday night during the semifinal round of the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament at SUNY Geneseo's Schrader Gymnasium, as the Hawks fell, 57-48, to second-seeded SUNY Cortland.
 
In a rubber match of a regular-season series that saw each team win on its home floor, New Paltz led, 27-23, at the half and by as many as seven points in the first stanza. Cortland clamped down defensively in the second half, though, and also shot 54.2 percent (13-of-24) from the floor in the final 20 minutes of play to pull out the win.
 
The Hawks, who reached the SUNYAC Tournament semifinals after a 79-58 win over Buffalo State in the quarterfinal round, end their season at 18-9 overall with the loss, marking a drastic turnaround after a 6-19 record in 2013-14. The Red Dragons rise to 21-5 with the victory and will face either top-seeded Geneseo or fourth-seeded SUNY Oneonta in the championship game tomorrow at 4 p.m. The winner of the SUNYAC title will earn the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament.
 
New Paltz controlled the momentum early, jumping out to a 15-9 lead after junior guard Goldie Harrison (Elmont, N.Y./Elmont Memorial) capped off a modest five-point run with a layup midway through the first half. The high-water mark for the Hawks came following a 3-pointer by freshman guard Sydney Pinn (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) with 1:21 before halftime, as New Paltz extended its advantage to 26-19. Cortland ended the half on a 4-1 run, and the Hawks took a 27-23 lead into the locker rooms.
 
After back-and-forth play to begin the second half, an 8-0 Cortland surge helped the Red Dragons gain their first lead of the game. Cortland pushed the edge out to as many as 11 points, but New Paltz countered with back-to-back 3-pointers by senior guard Shannan Walker (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) to pull the Hawks within five points. That was the closest New Paltz got down the stretch, as Cortland advanced on to the title game.
 
Cortland finished with a 45-33 advantage in rebounds and shot 42 percent (21-of-50) from the floor on the contest. The Hawks forced the Red Dragons into 18 turnovers while committing just 15 of their own. Despite shooting 36.7 percent (11-of-30) from the field in the first half, New Paltz shot 29.3 percent (17-of-58) for the game.
 
In her final game as a college student-athlete, Walker led the Hawks with 12 points, which she achieved off 4-of-10 shooting from 3-point range. Sophomore forward Courtney Irby (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) fell a point and a rebound short of a double-double, notching nine points and nine rebounds.
 
Junior forward Brittney Dumas paced Cortland with game-highs in points (24) and rebounds (12) to register a double-double, while senior forward Rae Frasier added 10 points.