Dec 01, 2018
CORTLAND, N.Y. – Natalie Alfieri scored 14 points as nationally 23rd-ranked Geneseo extended its SUNYAC regular-season winning streak to 42 games with a 67-53 win at Cortland.
Junior Sakara Hester-Torres (Hempstead/Uniondale), seeing her first action as a Red Dragon, led Cortland (2-3, 1-1 SUNYAC) with eight points in 13 minutes off the bench. Kristy Vitucci (Deer Park) finished with seven points, five rebounds and three assists, Alaina Lynch (Staten Island/Staten Island Tech) also scored seven points, Shana Crespo (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury) scored six points and pulled in four rebounds, and Shannon McGuire (West Babylon) added five points and team highs of six rebounds and four assists.
Alfieri was joined in double-figure scoring for Geneseo (8-0, 2-0 SUNYAC) by Kelsey Poplawski and Sara Ciotti with 10 points each. McKenna Brooks had eight points and nine rebounds and Kerrin Montgomery totaled eight points and eight rebounds. Ciotti and Lindsay Halpin each handed out three assists.
Geneseo opened the game on a 9-0 run over the game's first six minutes, 25 seconds and never trailed. The Knights led 18-5 late in the first quarter and 18-8 at the period break. The teams played a basically even second quarter and the guests took a 37-25 lead into halftime.
Cortland got within eight points at 38-30 on a Shelby Dugan (Watervliet) 3-pointer with 7:38 remaining in the third, but the Knights responded with a 6-0 run on baskets by Alfieri, Halpin and Ciotti to go up 44-30. The Red Dragons were within 10 points on two occasions after that in the quarter, but Geneseo led by 16 after the third and by at least 14 the rest of the way.
Geneseo finished shooting 36 percent overall and 29 percent (6-of-21) from 3-point range. Cortland hit 32 percent of its shots and 23 percent (6-of-26) from the arc.
Cortland will travel to Keuka for a non-league game Tuesday at 7 p.m.