CORTLAND, N.Y. – Kristy Vitucci (Deer Park) scored 19 points, including two 3-pointers during a 9-0 run to open the fourth quarter, as Cortland defeated Buffalo State, 66-52, at Corey Gymnasium in SUNYAC women's basketball action. The Red Dragons improved to 8-9 overall and 4-6 in the league. Buffalo State is also now 8-9 overall and the Bengals are 2-8 in conference play.

 

Vitucci hit 5-of-9 shots, all from 3-point range, and was 4-for-6 from the foul line. She also hauled in six rebounds. Tanna Mohammed (Huntington/Elwood-John H. Glenn) made four 3-pointers in a 12-point effort and Justine Crespo (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury) added 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Alaina Lynch (Staten Island/Staten Island Tech) set a career high with seven assists and also hit a 3-pointer that started that important fourth-quarter spurt. Shannon McGuire (West Babylon) added seven rebounds and four assists.

 

Princella McCullough posted a double-double for the Bengals with 20 points and 15 rebounds and she also blocked three shots. She actually had double-double numbers in the first half with 10 points and 11 boards. Liv LeBaron finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists but was held eight points below her SUNYAC-leading scoring average of 20.4 points per game.

 

Cortland led 28-21 at halftime, but Buffalo State opened the third quarter on a 10-0 run to take a 31-28 lead. The Red Dragons regrouped to regain the lead and eventually push their margin to seven points at 42-35 entering the fourth quarter.

 

Lynch hit a 3-pointer 15 seconds into the fourth and Vitucci nailed treys at the 9:16 and 8:05 marks to extend Cortland's lead to 51-35. The Bengals got back to within seven points on three occasions in the period, the last at 59-52 on a Grace Licata 3-pointer with 1:48 left. Buffalo State missed a layup on its next trip down the floor and Vitucci helped sealed the win with a 3-pointer with 1:09 on the clock. She also made four free throws in the final 41 seconds to create the final margin.

 

Cortland won despite shooting only 29 percent from the field. The Red Dragons, however, did hit 12-of-37 shots from 3-point range (32 percent), compared to Buffalo State's 3-of-15 shooting from the arc, and Cortland committed only nine turnovers while the Bengals gave the ball away 18 times.

 

Cortland will host Fredonia Saturday at 2 p.m.