Dec 06, 2019
GENESEO, N.Y. – Beth Bonin (Cicero/Cicero-North Syracuse) hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 26.1 seconds left in overtime and Cortland trailing by two and the Red Dragons went on to win at Geneseo, 67-64, in the SUNYAC opener for both teams.
Bonin finished with 21 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists for Cortland (4-1, 1-0 SUNYAC). Nyia Longford (Medford/Longwood) added 12 points, six rebounds and three assists and Shannon McGuire (West Babylon) registered nine points and team highs of eight rebounds and six assists.
Geneseo (5-1, 0-1 SUNYAC), is ranked 15th nationally in Division III by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and is just outside the D3hoops.com top 25. The SUNYAC regular-season champion each of the past three seasons were led by Sara Ciotti with 18 points. She also grabbed nine rebounds. Lindsay Halpin totaled 15 points and three assists, Kerrin Montgomery had nine points, 14 rebounds and three blocks, and Natalie Alfieri added eight points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Cortland shot just 32 percent from the field overall and 20 percent (6-of-30) from the arc. Geneseo was 35 percent overall and only 13 percent (2-of-15) from long distance. The Red Dragons, however, turned the ball over just 12 times compared to the Knights' 25 giveaways, and Cortland ended with a 24-8 advantage in points off of turnovers.
Geneseo led 8-0 to start the game and never trailed the entire first half. Cortland was able to get within a point at halftime, 29-28, on Maggie Malone's (Cornwall) layup with 32 seconds remaining, and the Red Dragons took their first lead on a Bonin layup 56 seconds into the third quarter.
Neither team led by more than four points the remainder of the game. Cortland led 53-51 on a Bonin 3-point play with four minutes left in regulation. Geneseo knotted the game on a Lauren Romito layup with 2:47 left. McGuire sank one free throw at the 2:12 mark and Ciotti hit two foul shots with 1:33 left to put Geneseo up by one.
Bonin was fouled with 5.3 seconds left in regulation and hit her first free throw to tie the game. She missed the second and Geneseo called timeout. Cortland got a steal in its backcourt on the inbounds pass but was unable to get off a shot before the buzzer sounded.
In overtime, the hosts led 63-60 on two Alfieri free throws with 1:08 left. Meghan Flanagan (Rochester/Brighton) made two foul shots with 54 seconds on the clock to cut the deficit to one, and Halpin hit the second of two free throws with 39 seconds left to give Geneseo a two-point lead.
After Bonin hit her go-ahead 3-pointer from the top of the key, Geneseo worked the ball around before missing a 3-pointer with less than 10 seconds left. McGuire grabbed the rebound and was fouled, and her two free throws with 4.4 seconds left extended the Cortland lead to three. Geneseo called timeout and advanced the ball, and Halpin had a 3-pointer from the top of the key miss the mark just before time expired.
Cortland will travel to Brockport Saturday for a 2 p.m. SUNYAC contest.