CORTLAND, N.Y. - Britt Perry scored 23 points, including four free throws in the final 36 seconds, as Buffalo State held on to defeat Cortland, 63-60, in women's basketball action at Corey Gym.
The Bengals improved to 8-12 overall and 4-9 in the SUNYAC, while Cortland dropped to 12-7 overall and sixth place in the league at 7-5.
Perry finished 9-of-10 from the foul line and also recorded six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Keyonte Edwards totaled 10 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals, and Caleh McLean scored 11 points. Jordan Yastremski led the Bengals with 11 rebounds.
Cassidy Chapko (Valley Falls/Hoosic Valley) led Cortland with career highs of 23 points and six rebounds. She connected on 5-of-10 from 3-point land and 9-of-16 shots overall. Caysea Cohen (Stony Brook/Ward Melville) scored 17 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out three assists, and Stephanie Rice (Duanesburg) ended with six rebounds, three blocks and five points.
Buffalo State led 14-5 after the first quarter as Cortland opened the game making only one of its first 11 shots. The Red Dragons, however, came back from an 11-point deficit early in the second half to briefly take the lead at 23-22 on a Taylor Miller (Freeport) layup with 1:19 left. Edwards' layup with 27 seconds on the clock gave Buffalo State a 24-23 halftime lead.
The teams remained within four points of each other the entire third quarter, but the Bengals opened the fourth on an 8-2 run and led 51-41 with 6:13 left. Chapko hit treys at the 5:13 and 3:49 marks to bring the Red Dragons back within four, but Perry made two foul shots with 2:43 left to create a six-point margin.
Another Chapko 3-pointer with 2:36 left cut the deficit to three. The teams each hit one free throw with just under 1:30 left. Leading by three, Buffalo State missed a shot with 53 seconds left, but Krystal Watson grabbed the rebound, hit a layup and was fouled with 50 seconds remaining. She missed the free throw, however, and the Bengals led 56-51.
Baskets by Chapko at the 40-second and 30-second marks were each answered by two Buffalo State free throws - the first two by Perry and the next two by Edwards. Chapko sank a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left to bring the Red Dragons within two, but Perry again hit two foul shots three seconds later. Cohen was fouled and made two foul shots with eight seconds left to again create a two-point margin. Edwards hit the first of two free throws with less than five seconds left but missed the second, but Cortland was only able to get off a half-court heave by Chapko that hit off the backboard as time expired. Chapko scored 16 of her 23 points in the fourth quarter.
Cortland will host Fredonia Saturday at 2 p.m.