NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – Beth Bonin (Cicero/Cicero-North Syracuse) scored 13 points and Shannon McGuire (West Babylon) and Nyia Longford (Medford/Longwood) added 10 points apiece as Cortland defeated Geneseo, 42-33, in the SUNYAC Women's Basketball Tournament semifinals at SUNY New Paltz.

 

Cortland (21-5), the tournament second seed, advances to the SUNYAC finals for the first time since 2015 and will look to win its first league crown since 2010. The Red Dragons will face top-seed and host New Paltz in the championship game Saturday at 4 p.m., with the winner earning an NCAA Division III tournament automatic berth. New Paltz defeated Buffalo State, 78-49, in Friday's second semifinal game. Geneseo fell to 22-5 with the loss and will await a potential NCAA at-large berth.

 

The 33 points scored by Geneseo are the fewest Cortland has ever allowed in a SUNYAC playoff game and are tied for the third fewest allowed by any school in the 37-year history of the tournament. The Red Dragons limited the Knights to 26 percent shooting overall and nine percent (2-for-22) from 3-point range, although Cortland was not that much more successful offensively at 27 percent overall shooting and 17 percent (4-for-24) from the arc.

 

Bonin led Cortland with six assists in addition to her 13 points. McGuire ended with 10 points and seven rebounds and Longford had 10 points, six boards and two assists. Sarah Tully (East Aurora) and Meghan Flanagan (Rochester/Brighton) also grabbed six rebounds each and Katie Carey (Greene) finished with five rebounds in 13 minutes of action.

 

Kerrin Montgomery made six of her nine field goal attempts for Geneseo and finished with 13 points and 17 rebounds. Natalie Alfieri added six points, 10 rebounds and three assists and Lindsay Halpin matched Alfieri with three assists.

 

Cortland led 7-0 four minutes into the game and clung to a one-point lead before McGuire hit a 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter to put the Red Dragons ahead 14-10. Geneseo took its largest lead at 17-14 on an Alfieri jumper with 7:36 left in the half, but Cortland closed the period on a 9-2 run that featured a Flanagan 3-pointer and baskets by McGuire, Longford and Tully to take a 23-19 lead.

 

Neither team scored over the final 3:25 of the second quarter nor the first 3:49 of the third quarter. The Knights eventually closed to within 25-24 on a Hannah Stockman 3-pointer with 5:20 left, but Bonin hit a trey at the 4:02 mark and Jess Womble (Wheatley Heights/Half Hollow Hills East) hit a twisting layup with 2:37 left to give Cortland a six-point lead.

 

The lead remained at six entering the fourth and grew to 34-26 on Tully's jumper 22 seconds into the stanza. Geneseo hit two shots in the next minute and a half and was within 34-30 with 8:20 left.

 

Both teams struggled from that point to mount much offense. Neither team scored again until Longford hit a layup at the 3:34 mark, and no one scored after that until Bonin sank two free throws with 42 seconds remaining to put Cortland up by eight. McGuire added two foul shots at the 30-second mark. Geneseo was scoreless for nearly eight minutes until a Montgomery 3-point play with 22 seconds left provided its final points. Bonin wrapped the scoring with two charity tosses with 21 seconds remaining.