CORTLAND, N.Y. - Liv LeBaron scored 18 points and Caleh McLean added 16 points as Buffalo State defeated Cortland, 61-53, in SUNYAC women's basketball action.

Despite the loss, Cortland (14-9 overall) remains in a tie for second in the SUNYAC standings, with Oneonta, at 11-5. New Paltz, however, sits just a game behind in fourth at 10-6 and Brockport is fifth at 9-7, so Cortland can still finish anywhere from second to fifth place depending on the outcome of next weekend's final two league games. Cortland will host league-leading Geneseo Friday and Brockport Saturday.

Buffalo State (10-13 overall) is currently tied with Fredonia for the sixth and final SUNYAC playoff spot at 7-10, a half game ahead of Plattsburgh (6-10). Buffalo State plays at Fredonia next Saturday to close league play.

Shana Crespo (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury) led Cortland with 16 points and added eight rebounds. She hit 6-of-10 shots from the floor. Justine Crespo (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury) led the Red Dragons with 10 rebounds and Kristy Vitucci (Deer Park) finished with nine points, five rebounds and four assists. Taylor Miller (Freeport) totaled six points, six rebounds and three assists.

In addition to her 18 points, LeBaron led the Bengals with five assists and also grabbed five rebounds. McLean was 7-of-12 from the field and shared the team lead with three steals. Katie Villarini chipped in with nine points, seven boards and three assists and Lay Knight had seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Cortland led most of the first quarter, but a late 7-1 run gave the Bengals a 16-11 lead. The guests built their advantage to 10 with less than three minutes left in the second, but Cortland came back to within 31-28 with 16 seconds remaining. Grace Licata's 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer gave the Bengals a 34-28 lead

Buffalo State never trailed in the second half, but still held only a four-point lead at 51-47 after two (Justine) Crespo free throws with 5:56 left. Mariah Rosario's 3-point play on the Bengals' next possession pushed the margin to seven, followed by a McLean jumper at the 5:18 mark. Neither team scored for about two minutes until Rosario's layup with 3:46 left made it a 58-47 game. A Tanna Mohammed (Huntington/Elwood-John H. Glenn) 3-pointer closed the gap to eight with 3:35 left, but Cortland was unable to score again until another Mohammed 3-pointer in the final seconds.

Buffalo shot 37 percent for the game compared to Cortland's 32 percent. The Bengals held a 20-10 edge in points off of turnovers as Cortland committed 19 turnovers compared to 14 by the guests.