PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Plattsburgh State fell in their home opener to Bates College 59-49. Imani Walcott (Albany, N.Y. / Albany) had her first double-double of the 2023-24 season as she tied for leading scorer with 16 points and led the way in rebounds overall with 13.

There were contributions from Payton Couture (Redford, N.Y. / Saranac) who had 13 points and five rebounds. Julia Greek (Long Island, N.Y. / Ward Melville) was also a part of the offensive effort as she had 11 points and six rebounds. Kathy Peterson-Ross (Lake Forest, Ill. / Lake Forest) helped on the boards with six rebounds.

For Bates, Morgan Kennedy and Danielle Adams led the way with 16 points each. They also had contributions from Elsa Daulerio with eight points and three rebounds and Sophie Spolter with six rebounds which led the team. Alexandra Long was the playmaker of the team as she had eight assists.

It was a defensive battle as both teams shot under 35.0%. The difference in this game was the bench points. Bates got 19 points from their bench while Plattsburgh only got seven. Plattsburgh also lost the turnover battle which helped Bates as they had 19 points off turnovers and Plattsburgh only had seven.

Plattsburgh falls to 2-1 and they will be back in action as they close the Cardinal Classic against Vermont State University Castleton Saturday, Nov. 18 at 3 pm. Bates rises to 2-0 and they will be back in action to open the Cardinal Classic against Potsdam on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 1 pm.

The Bobcats opened the 1^st quarter with a jumper from Davina Kabantu that made the score 2-0 Bobcats. The Cardinals responded with a layup from Walcott that tied the game. A little over seven minutes to play, the Cardinals took the lead 4-2 on a layup from Couture shortly but the Bobcats responded with a layup of their own from Daulerio. The first quarter was back and forth as the score was tied four times. The Bobcats scored a jumper before the buzzer that made the score 15-13 Bobcats.

The score tied shortly once again after a layup from Couture to open the second plus the foul. Couture made the free throw that made the score 16-15 Cardinals. With over eight minutes to play, the Cardinals increased their lead to five. With over six minutes left the Cardinals led by five still. The Bobcats cut the lead to three on free throws from Kennedy but Walcott responded with an and one layup and that made the lead six. With over two minutes to play the Bobcats cut the lead to one on a layup from Sarah Hughes and took the lead on a jumper from Alexandra Long. Bates went into halftime with that one-point lead as the score was 31-30.

The Bobcats scored seven straight points to open the third and increased their lead to eight. The Cardinals were held scoreless until over five minutes to play as Mya Smith (Wappingers Falls, N.Y. / Roy C. Ketcham) made a layup that made the score 38-32 Bobcats. With over two minutes to play the Bobcats increased their lead to 12 on a jumper from Adams. The quarter ended 46-37 Bobcats.

Walcott opened the scoring in the fourth on a layup that made the score 46-39 Bobcats. Greek followed that up with a three to cut the lead to four. It was Walcott again as she made a layup that cut the lead to two as the Cardinals went on a 7-0 run from the 9:39 mark to the 7:59 mark that was ended by a three from Kennedy. Two was the lowest the Bobcats lead was as they increased their lead to 14 on a 10-0 run from the 6:57 mark til the 00:46 mark. To end the fourth, Bri Brousseau (Peru, N.Y. / Peru) and Greek made layups that made the final score 59-49 Bobcats.