CANTON, N.Y. – Cortland women's basketball head coach Jeannette Mosher earned her 400th career victory as the Red Dragons defeated host St. Lawrence, 74-66, in a non-league contest. Mosher is 367-115 in 18 seasons at Cortland, in addition to 33 wins as head coach at Alfred University. She is one of only 33 active Division III women's basketball coaches, including two others this season, to reach the 400-win mark.
Junior Jennifer Deuel (Whitesboro) led Cortland (5-3) with 17 points. She made 5-of-7 field goals, including both of her 3-pointers, and was 5-for-5 at the foul line. She also added three assists and three rebounds. Junior Cassidy Chapko (Valley Falls/Hoosic Valley) went 3-for-6 from 3-point range and finished with 13 points and a team-high five assists.
Senior Caysea Cohen (Stony Brook/Ward Melville) chipped in with nine points and five rebounds. Junior Danielle Levine (Holbrook/Sachem North) ended with eight points, seven rebounds and three steals, and junior Stephanie Rice (Duanesburg) scored eight points. Also, junior Alyssa Crosby (Brier Hill/Hammond) shared the team lead with seven rebounds to go with six points, and freshman Kristy Vitucci (Deer Park) scored six points on 2-of-2 shooting from 3-point range.
Shayna Davner led St. Lawrence (5-2), the Liberty League regular-season champion each of the last two seasons, with 17 points. She was 6-of-8 from the floor overall and 4-of-6 from 3-point land. Cara Waterson added 12 points, four rebounds and two blocks, Lauren Quattrocchi rang up 11 points and eight assists, and Caroline Dalton led the Saints with nine rebounds.
St. Lawrence led 21-9 with 1:51 left in the first quarter after a Jenny Scudder 3-pointer. Cortland closed to within 22-15 at the end of the quarter on a Cohen trey with three seconds left, and the Red Dragons opened the second quarter on a 13-2 run to take a 28-24 lead. Cohen and Levine started the run with four points each, followed by a Deuel 3-pointer and a Taylor Miller (Freeport) layup.
Cortland led 38-36 at halftime and 53-49 after three quarters. The lead grew to 60-54 on a Deuel layup with 5:41 left, but Kaelyn Kohlasch buried a 3-pointers moments later to make it a 3-point game. The Red Dragons responded with a Deuel layup and a Chapko 3-pointer and led 65-57 with 4:34 left.
The Saints eventually got back to within four points twice, the last at 70-66 with 1:49 left. They forced a turnover on Cortland's next possession, but missed a 3-pointer with a minute left that would have cut their deficit to one. Deuel sealed the victory with four free throws over the final 33 seconds.
Both teams enjoyed solid shooting nights. Cortland hit 10-of-24 (42 percent) shots from 3-point range and 44 percent overall from the floor. The Red Dragons were also 10-of-11 on the foul line. St. Lawrence made 46 percent of its field goals, including 43 percent (12-of-28) from the 3-point arc.
Cortland will host SUNY Polytechnic next Saturday, December 19, at 12 p.m. as the start of a doubleheader with the men's team versus the Wildcats.