NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – SUNY Oneonta pushed a large lead early in the first quarter that would set the Red Dragons on a path to defeat the State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team, 63-53, in a Catskill Cup match up. With the loss, the Hawks trail Oneonta, 14-10, in the 2015-16 Catskill Cup standings.
 
After dishing out several 3-pointers in over a minute, senior guard Bryn Loomis capped off Oneonta's 17-0 first stanza run on a made jumper with 5:26 to go. The Hawks rallied to slowly chip away at the Red Dragons' lead, coralling the score to four on a 3-point basket from junior guard Morgan Roessler (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) with 1:23 left to play in the fourth quarter. However Oneonta would slip from the Hawks' grasp as the Red Dragons capitalized on 6-of-6 free throw attempts to secure the victory.
 
The Hawks drop to 9-4, 4-2 returns to action on Friday, Jan. 22 when they host SUNY Fredonia at 5:30 p.m. in the Hawk Center. Oneonta improves to 9-4, 5-1 and return home to host Buffalo State at 5:30 p.m.
 
Despite trailing 19-7 at the end of the first quarter, the Hawks trimmed the deficit to six as junior guard/forward Kit Smalls (Slingersland, N.Y./Academy of the Holy Names) hit a layup in the paint but Oneonta continued to push its lead, securing a 10 point advantage at intermission. New Paltz remained determined to close the gap, holding the Red Dragons to a 33.3 second half shooting percentage but Oneonta took advantage of its precise free throw shooting that would ultimately give the Red Dragons the win.

The Red Dragons held the Hawks to a 26.3 shooting percentage (21-of-80) while Oneonta drained 43.1 percent from the floor (22-of-51) and 77.8 percent from the foul line (14-of-18). However New Paltz held a slight 48-43 edge in rebounds and scored 25 points off Oneonta turnovers. 
 
Despite the loss, junior forward Courtney Irby (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) posted a double-double 13 points and 18 rebounds to pace the Hawks while shooting 3-of-5 from the charity stripe. Small and freshman guard Lindsay Bettke (Pelham, N.Y./The Urusline School) chipped in 11 points apiece while Roessler added 10 points to the Hawks' efforts.
 
For the Red Dragons, senior guard/forward Lyteshia Price led the team with 16 points, 12 rebounds and five assists while shooting 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Sophomore guard Samantha Lisikatos added 14 points with Loomis chipping in 11 points.