CORTLAND, N.Y. - Kara Houppert led five Geneseo double-figure scorers with 14 points and also dished out five assists as the nationally 23rd-ranked Knights remained unbeaten with a 77-52 win at Cortland in SUNYAC women's basketball action.
The Knights improved to 19-0 overall and 12-0 in league play. Cortland is now 8-10 overall and is now tied for fourth place with New Paltz in the SUNYAC with a 7-4 mark. The Red Dragons will host Brockport Saturday at 4 p.m.
Alyssa Crosby (Brier Hill/Hammond) led Cortland with 12 points and three assists. She hit 6-of-11 shots from the floor. Stephanie Rice (Duanesburg) finished with 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks, and Danielle Levine (Holbrook/Sachem North) ended with six points and a team-high seven rebounds. Kerry McHugh (Highland Mills/Monroe-Woodbury) and Cassidy Chapko (Valley Falls/Hoosic Valley) matched Crosby and Rice for the team lead with three assists each.
Houppert hit 4-of-8 3-pointers in her 14-point effort for Geneseo. Kayleigh Cavanaugh tallied 13 points, while Kelsey Poplawski made 4-of-5 shots, all from 3-point range, and finished with 12 points and six rebounds. McKenna Brooks and Bridgit Ryan each scored 10 points. Brooks led the team with eight rebounds, and Ryan handed out a team-high six assists and hauled in seven rebounds.
Geneseo shot 73 percent from the floor in the second half, including 9-of-10 in the fourth quarter as it turned a 12-point lead at the end of the third quarter into a 25-point final margin. The Knights finished 12-of-26 (46 percent) from 3-point land and 49 percent from the field overall. Cortland shot 40 percent overall, 44 percent in the second half, and was 6-of-15 (40 percent) from the 3-point arc, but allowed 15 offensive rebounds and was outscored 10-0 in second-chance points.
Cortland trailed 17-11 after the first quarter and pulled within two twice in the second quarter. The Red Dragons were still down only four at 27-23 after a Becca Krenzer (Pavilion/Batavia-Notre Dame) layup with 2:13 left, but Cavanaugh's two free throws and a Houppert 3-pointer gave Geneseo a 32-23 halftime lead.
Geneseo extended its lead to 18 points with less than five minutes left in the third. Cortland got back within 12 on a Tanna Mohammed (Huntington/Elwood-John Glenn) 3-pointer and a Crosby layup, and was within 11 on a Levine 3-pointer with 8:20 left in the game. Another Mohammed 3-pointer with 5:20 left kept the Red Dragons within 12, but Geneseo scored the next 11 points on two Poplawski treys and five points by Katie Vienneau and led by at least 20 the rest of the way.