PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's basketball team kept it close in the first half but a slow second half allowed New Paltz to pull away with a 65-55 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) victory. With the loss, the Cardinals lose the season's series against New Paltz and are eliminated from playoff contention. The Cardinals had a very balanced offense with four players in double-figures led by Imani Walcott (Albany, N.Y. / Albany). Walcott led the team in points with 13 to go with four rebounds, three blocks, and a steal.

First-year guard Julia Greek (Long Island, N.Y. / Ward Melville) scored 12 points and had one rebound, assist, and steal. Mya Smith (Wappingers Falls, N.Y. / Roy C. Ketcham) and Payton Couture (Redford, N.Y. / Saranac) also notched double figures on the night as they both poured in 11 points while Smith had 3 rebounds and an assist and Couture grabbed nine rebounds and dished out three assists. Kathy Peterson-Ross (lake Forest, Ill. / Lake Forest) got in on the playmaking action as well and she also had three assists to go with eight rebounds and two points. Jaden Wilson (Johnstown, N.Y. / Johnstown) contributed to the overall effort with seven rebounds as she battled on the boards and put in four points.

For the Hawks, Jenny Walton led all scorers with 19 points. Abby Korzekwinski and Brianna Fitzgerald were also double figures with 15 and 13 respectively.

The Cardinals shot a solid 34.8% from the field and only 25.0% from the three making 3 of 12 while the Hawks shot only 32.5% from the field and 28.0% from three making 7 of 25. Free throws kept the Cardinals in the game as they shot more than double the amount than the Hawks and at an efficient 74.1% making 20 of 27 while the Hawks shot 66.7% making 6 of 9. While the Cardinals shot better from the field especially in the second quarter at 66.7% they did not shoot well in the second half which allowed the Hawks to pull away. Another big contributing factor was turnovers as the Cardinals had 18 turnovers leading to 13 points off turnovers for the Hawks and the Hawks only had nine leading to six points off turnovers for the Cardinals. The Cardinals' bench contributed to the overall effort as they provided 16 bench points compared to seven from the Hawks.

The first half was closely contested as the Cardinals responded to multiple Hawks runs. Walton put the first points on the board with a free throw followed by a layup from Korzekwinski. Walcott got the Cardinals on the board with a layup shortly after and made the score 3-2 Hawks with less than eight minutes to go. Smith tied the game at 7 on a free throw and Walcott gave the Cardinals their first lead of the game on a made free throw that made the score 8-7 at the 3:45 mark. The Hawks didn't waste time as they regained the lead on a jumper from Walton before Wilson made a jumper that gave the Cardinals the lead 10-9. A 6-0 run from the 2:42 mark until the 1:36 mark gave the Hawks back the lead and made the score 16-10. The Cardinals ended the first with four straight points and went into the second down 16-14.

Walcott opened the second with a jumper that tied the game followed by a Couture layup that gave the Cardinals the lead once again. Walton responded with a three that gave the Hawks back the lead and made the score 19-18. Five straight points from the Cardinals made the score 23-19 and they took the lead yet again with less than six minutes to go. The lead swapped four more times as the Cardinals went into halftime up 33-32.

The third quarter saw the Hawks double the Cardinals' points and regain the lead as they went into the fourth up eight. Korzekwinski opened the third with a layup followed by a Smith layup. It was Korzekwinski again as she gave the Hawks the lead for good and made the score 36-35. A three from Morgan Hammell stretched the Hawks lead to four with less than eight minutes to go. For over a three-minute stretch, both teams went scoreless until Smith made a free throw that made the score 39-36 Hawks with less than four minutes to go. Another free throw from Smith cut the Hawks lead to one with less than two minutes to go. The Hawks closed the quarter on a 7-0 run and made the score 50-42 Hawks after three quarters of play.

Fitzgerald opened the fourth with a jumper that gave the Hawks a double-digit lead. Four more points from the Hawks gave them their largest lead of the game (14). Greek got the Cardinals on the board with a three that made the score 56-45 Hawks with less than seven minutes left. The lead remained at double-digits for the majority of the fourth as the Cardinals went blow for blow with the Hawks but couldn't force any stops. A late free throw from Peterson-Ross cut the lead to single digits but the Hawks extended it back to double-digits shortly after as they won 65-55.