PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. - After playing to a tie through regulation, the Plattsburgh State women's basketball team fell to Oswego, as the Lakers outscored the Cardinals 18-10 in the extra period. The Cards were able to force overtime in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) matchup thanks to strong defense over the final minutes of play, including getting a stop as time expired in the fourth quarter.

Kortney McCarthy (Peru, N.Y./Peru) and Payton Couture(Redford, N.Y./Saranac) each had 16 points to lead the way for Plattsburgh and registered as the game-high scorers, with Couture also pulling down nine rebounds and connecting on four triples. Mya Smith (Wappinger Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) added 11 points for the Cards, while Izzy Wilbur (Red Creek, N.Y./Red Creek) picked up her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. For the Lakers, Diamond Pickett had a monster double-double, pulling down 25 rebounds to go with 14 points. Shania Iglesias led the way scoring-wise for Oswego State with 15 points, knocking down seven of her eight free throw attempts. 

Overall, neither team shot the ball particularly well, with Plattsburgh making just 28.6% of their shots and Oswego making 28.8% of their shots. The Cards, however, stayed in the game by hitting 10 three-pointers, a season-high, while the Lakers stayed in the game and eventually won due to their success at the line. Heading into overtime, Oswego shot 14-21 from the line and equaled their makes from the line over the first 40 minutes with a 14-16 overtime period at the line.

Plattsburgh falls to 3-8 with the loss and is now 0-5 in SUNYAC play in 2022. The team will now head into finals week and then winter break, with their next matchup coming on Saturday, Jan. 7 for a SUNYAC battle with Potsdam. Oswego State improves to 9-2 overall and 3-2 in conference play with the win and will next play Colgate in an exhibition on Saturday, Dec. 17. 

The game began very slowly as the score stood at 6-6 at the 3:45 mark in the first period, with a Couture three knotting the score up at six. The slow start was followed by an 8-2 run by the Lakers, as they took a 14-8 lead into the first quarter break. In the second period, the Cards found their offensive footing as Couture knocked down a three and two free throws over the first two minutes to keep Plattsburgh close, as they trailed 18-13. Counting the two Couture free throws, the Cards were able to string together a 13-2 run to pull ahead by four points, thanks to Smith and Imani Walcott (Albany, N.Y./Albany) jumpers. The Lakers concluded the half with a 6-0 run to give themselves a 26-24 lead heading into the halftime break. 

In the third quarter, the Cardinals utilized the three-point ball to keep pace with the Lakers, as Plattsburgh knocked down four threes, with a McCarthy three tying the score at 40 to conclude the period. In the final period of regulation, Plattsburgh was able to take a 51-47 lead with 3:57 to go after a McCarthy layup. Iglesias followed with a layup on the next possession to make it a two-point deficit for the Lakers and Elaina Johnson tied the game over a minute later, with 1:58 to go. Each team got two free throws to go to put the score at 53 all, and then each team stood tall defensively over the last minute and a half to send the game to overtime.

In the extra period, the Lakers rattled off a 9-0 run over the first four minutes to sit at a comfortable advantage over the last couple of minutes. After going up by nine, Plattsburgh was forced to foul over the last minute of play, where Oswego State answered the call and hit 14 of 16 free throws in the period to seal the win.