NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's basketball team gave the defending State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) champion all it could handle, but the Cardinals wound up falling, 67-63, to SUNY New Paltz at the Hawk Center on Friday night in SUNYAC action.
 
Though New Paltz held a small lead in the beginning of the fourth quarter, Plattsburgh State assembled a 12-2 run, and a layup by senior guard Moe Jones (Freeport, N.Y./Freeport) gave the Cardinals a 59-52 cushion with 3:52 left in regulation. The Hawks hung tough and battled back, taking the lead (62-61) following an old-fashioned 3-point play by freshman forward Paige Niemeyer with 1:43 left in regulation.
 
New Paltz never trailed from that point, though Plattsburgh State made it a one-possession game after freshman forward Frannie Merkel (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) converted on a layup with 20 seconds left. Forced to foul immediately, the Cardinals sent freshman guard Sandi Harris to the line for New Paltz, and she missed the first attempt before making the second. Plattsburgh State called timeout to advance the ball to midcourt, but the Hawks forced the Cardinals into a turnover immediately. New Paltz kept the ball away from the Plattsburgh State defenders in the final 15 seconds of regulation to escape with the four-point win.
 
Plattsburgh State drops to 10-14 overall (6-11 SUNYAC) with the loss and wraps up its season tomorrow afternoon at SUNY Oneonta at 4 p.m. New Paltz rises to 15-8 overall (12-5 SUNYAC) with the win and closes out its regular season tomorrow with a 4 p.m. game against SUNY Potsdam.
 
New Paltz, which had previously beaten Plattsburgh State by a 72-41 final on Jan. 28, led by as many as five points early. The Cardinals closed the first quarter on a 12-4 run, however, and a layup by freshman forward Taylor Clare (Peekskill, N.Y./Peekskill) gave the visitors a 14-11 cushion through the first 10 minutes of play.
 
Plattsburgh State opened up an 18-11 advantage in the early goings of the second quarter and never trailed in the period, but the Hawks cashed in on a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Lindsay Bettke with 1:49 to go before halftime to tie the score at 28-all heading into the intermission.
 
The two teams traded points in the third quarter, with neither side able to build a significant advantage. New Paltz did, however, open up a five-point lead late in the period, though Merkel knocked down a jumper with 12 seconds left in the stanza to draw the Cardinals within three (48-45) heading into the final regulation frame.

In spite of the loss, the Cardinals led for 18:45. Plattsburgh State shot 51.1 percent from the floor (24-of-47), including a 50 percent (5-of-10) mark from distance, and the Cardinals went 10-of-13 (76.9 percent) from the line. New Paltz outrebounded Plattsburgh State by a 40-34 margin, however, and scored 30 points off 25 Cardinal turnovers.
 
Plattsburgh State's bench combined for 38 points, all of which came from two student-athletes: Merkel and sophomore guard Anna Thompson (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Spackenkill). Merkel drained 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting, while Thompson poured in a career-high 18. Jones finished with 11 points and added five rebounds and three assists.
 
For New Paltz, Bettke and Niemeyer netted 23 and 13 points, respectively, while senior forward Courtney Irby nearly posted a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench.