GENESEO, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team capped off its weekend road games with a 62-57 triumph over State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) foe SUNY Geneseo on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Hawks rise to 9-3, 4-1 SUNYAC and return home on Friday, Jan. 15 to face SUNYAC and Catskill Cup rival SUNY Oneonta at 5:30 p.m. Geneseo falls to 7-3, 2-1 SUNYAC and begins its three-day road swing at SUNY Cortland on Tuesday, Jan. 12 at 4 p.m.
 
Geneseo built an early 8-7 lead but the Hawks would rally to take possession of the score, capping off the first quarter with a four-point advantage. New Paltz continued to hold its lead in the second period as the Knights trailed 20-14 at 8:36, but Geneseo would capitalize on a 14-3 run to gain a five-point lead (28-23).
 
Made free throws by junior forward Courtney Irby (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) and junior guard/forward Kit Small (Slingersland, N.Y./Academy of the Holy Names) brought the Hawks within one of the Knights but a layup by senior forward Lea Sobieraski propelled Geneseo to a 30-27 edge at the half.
 
The Knights pushed their lead to 10 with 5:45 left in the third quarter. The Hawks began to chip away at the score, finally catching the Knights with a 3-pointer from freshman guard Lindsay Bettke (Pelham, N.Y./The Ursuline School) for a close 40-39 tally.
 
Both teams traded points as the quarter drew to a close but a free throw by senior guard Dana Cohan in the final minute put Geneseo back on top (43-41).   
 
A 16-1 run placed New Paltz ahead on the scoreboard but the Knights remained close behind, tying the score to 49 at 6:51. A battle for the lead ensued between both teams but the Hawks would ultimately take the win, connecting on 3-of-4 free throw attempts in the final seconds of game play.
 
Geneseo held a 46-29 edge in rebounds but the Hawks owned a 73.9 percentage (17-of-23) in free throws and turned 18 Geneseo turnovers into points. Both teams finished closely in field goal percentage, with the Hawks going 19-of-50 (38.0 percent) while the Knights went 22-of-58 (37.9 percent).
 
Small paced the Hawks with a game-high 21 points while shooting 6-of-13 from the field and converting 7-of-8 from the line. Bettke added 12 points off the bench and connected on every shot from the floor (4-of-4) and beyond the arc (4-of-4). Irby posted a team-high five rebounds while chipping in 12 points as well.
 
For the Knights, senior forward Allison McKenna led with 12 points and nine rebounds, shooting 6-of-10 from the field. Cohan chipped in 11 points while shooting 3-of-6 from the floor and connecting on 4-of-6 free throw attempts.