FREDONIA, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's basketball team fell, 61-51, to Fredonia in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game on Saturday afternoon at the Steele Hall Fieldhouse.
 
Sophomore guard Bella DePasquale (Ardsley, N.Y./Ardsley) dropped a career-high 17 points to pace the Cardinal attack, knocking down 5-of-11 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc. Senior guard Moe Jones (Freeport, N.Y./Freeport) also reached double figures in scoring with 11 points, while freshman forward Frannie Merkel (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) fell just shy of a double-double with 13 rebounds and eight points.
 
Fredonia's sophomore forward Jenna Einink posted a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds, while senior guard Alexis Cheatham scored 11 points and added five assists.
 
Plattsburgh State drops to 4-2 overall (1-1 SUNYAC) with the loss and hosts SUNY Geneseo on Friday, Dec. 9, at 7:30 p.m. Fredonia climbs to 6-1 overall (2-0 SUNYAC) with the win and visits Oswego State next on Friday, Dec. 9, at 7:30 p.m.
 
Both teams stayed within a possession of each other in the first quarter, but the Blue Devils closed the period on a modest 5-0 run to claim a 13-10 advantage through 10 minutes of play. Fredonia broke the game open by outscoring Plattsburgh State by a 14-3 margin in the second quarter, and a basket by Cheatham with nine seconds left handed the home team a 27-13 halftime lead.
 
Though Fredonia pushed its advantage to 18 midway through the third quarter, Plattsburgh State closed the period on a 12-4 surge, and DePasquale knocked down two free throws to draw within 10 at 36-26. The Blue Devils swelled their lead back up to 16 in the final regulation period, but the Cardinals did not go down without a fight, cutting the deficit to single digits following a 9-2 run that was capped off by a DePasquale jumper with 3:34 remaining. Fredonia went 4-of-6 from the field from that point forward and came up with defensive stops to preserve the victory.
 
Fredonia shot 32.4 percent (23-of-71) from the floor on the contest and held a commanding 67-48 edge in rebounds. The Cardinals, who were held to 24.7 percent (18-of-73) shooting from the field, committed just nine turnovers all game compared to 13 for the Blue Devils.