MORRISVILLE, N.Y. – A near triple-double from senior guard/forward Payton Couture (Redford, N.Y. / Saranac) led the charge for the Plattsburgh State women's basketball team in a 72-48 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) win over Morrisville. Couture registered her third double-double of the season recording 12 points, a career-high 15 rebounds as well as dishing out a game-high seven assists. The Cardinals had a balanced offense with four other players registering double figures along with Couture.

Junior guard Jaden Wilson (Johnstown, N.Y. / Johnstown) led all players in scoring with 13 points to go along with 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Junior center Imani Walcott (Albany, N.Y. / Albany) and sophomore guard Selma Deisz (Bekkestua, Norway / Nadderud VGS) both recorded 11 points while Walcott grabbed seven rebounds and Deisz two. Julia Greek (Long Island, N.Y. / Ward Melville) finished the night with 10 points, four assists, and three rebounds while first-year guard Emily Smith (Greenville, N.Y. / Greenville) recorded her first career points.

For the Mustangs, Anyssia Ingersoll paced the team with 12 points as well as recording six rebounds. Kieonna Christmas led the team in rebounds with seven while Abbie Platt led the team in assists with five.

The Cardinals had an efficient shooting night shooting 46.0% from the field and 40.7% from behind the arc knocking down almost double the number of threes the Mustangs made with 11. The Mustangs only shot 28.1% from the field and 23.1% from the three. The Cardinals dominated the rebounding game 49-35 while second-chance points were close with the Mustangs having the slight edge 9-8. Although the Mustangs had fewer turnovers, the Cardinals capitalized off points off turnovers with 16 compared to the Mustangs nine.

Plattsburgh State rises to 4-2 overall (1-0 SUNYAC) with the win and are back in action tomorrow, Dec. 7 with a matchup against Cortland at 1 p.m. Morrisville falls to 2-4 overall (0-1 SUNYAC) with the loss and next hosts Potsdam tomorrow, Dec. 7 at 2 p.m.

Walcott opened the scoring for the game with a layup followed by closely contested play from both teams. A layup followed by a three-pointer allowed the Mustangs to take their first lead of the game at 8-5 but the Cardinals quickly responded with a three of their own from Couture that made the score 8 all at the 6:51 mark. A 6-0 burst extended the Cardinals' lead to 14-8, however, Morrisville responded with a 7-0 run and took a 15-14 lead at the 2:24 mark. The Cardinals closed the first quarter on a 5-0 run and went into the second quarter with a 22-18 lead.

Just six seconds into the second quarter Couture cashed in on a jumper followed by a layup moments later that made the score 26-18 Cardinals. After both teams exchanged layups back-to-back that made the score 31-24 Cardinals at the 6:38 mark neither team scored until the 2:14 mark when Deisz splashed a three-pointer that put the Cardinals up by double digits. While the Mustangs responded with a layup that made the score 34-26 Cardinals, Plattsburgh outscored Morrisville 5-2 the rest of the quarter and went into halftime up 39-28.

Plattsburgh started the third quarter with five straight points coming off a layup from Walcott and a three from Greek that extended the Cardinals' lead to 44-28. Morrisville responded with five points of their own, but the Cardinals bested that by going on a 7-0 run that made the score 51-33 at the 5:34 mark. A layup from Walcott pushed the Cardinals' lead to 20, their largest of the game before a Jakeira Stackhouse free throw ended the third quarter and made the score 60-41 after three quarters of play.

Plattsburgh opened the fourth quarter with a 9-0 tear that pushed the Cardinals' lead to 69-41. After a layup from Christmas ended the Cardinals' run, Rosie Sculco (Amsterdam, N.Y. / Amsterdam) scored the Cardinals' last points of the game off a three-pointer as Plattsburgh won 72-48.