CORTLAND, N.Y. – After a low-scoring second quarter, the Plattsburgh State women's basketball team wasn't able to come back from the halftime deficit and dropped a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) contest to Cortland, falling 67-41. Senior guard Payton Couture (Redford, N.Y. / Saranac) paced the Cardinals with 13 points, six rebounds, and two steals.

Junior guard Jaden Wilson (Johnstown, N.Y. / Johnstown) had a solid performance with nine points and two rebounds. Defensively junior center Imani Walcott (Albany, N.Y. / Albany) led the way with a team-high three steals and two blocks to go along with her seven points and four rebounds. First-year guard Kayla Johannesen (Hyde Park, N.Y. / Our Lady of Lourdes) had solid contributions off the bench with six points and six rebounds.

For the Red Dragons, Joleen Lusk led all players with 19 points and tallied six rebounds which was tied for team-high with Sophie Bissaillon. Kayla Campbell distributed a game-high six assists and had five rebounds.

The Cardinals shot 35.7% from the field while the Red Dragons shot a solid 39.7% from the field and even though neither team shot from behind the arc well, Cortland knocked down eight at 28.6% clip while the Cardinals only knocked down two. Cortland had the edge in rebounds 37-32 as well as second-chance points 16-7. A high turnover game for the Cardinals led to 27 points off turnovers for Cortland while the Cardinals only got seven.

Plattsburgh State falls to 4-3 overall (1-1 SUNYAC) and next plays on Monday, Dec. 16 when they travel to Daytona, Fla. for the Mauro Panaggio Tournament with a non-conference matchup against SUNYAC foe Brockport at 1 p.m. Cortland moves to 5-1 overall (2-0 SUNYAC) and are back in action next Saturday, Dec. 14 at 3:30 p.m. when they travel to Hamilton.

In the first quarter, the Cardinals got on the board first with a layup from Selma Deisz (Bekkestua, Norway / Nadderud VGS) before Cortland responded with a three from Lusk. After Cortland knocked in back-to-back layups the Red Dragons took a 7-4 lead at the 7:43 mark. A layup from Julia Greek (Long Island, N.Y. / Ward Melville) followed by a three-pointer from Wilson put the Cardinals ahead 10-8 momentarily before Brooke Tillotson made a layup that tied the game at 10 at the 5:23 mark. It was Tillotson again with a three-pointer that put Cortland ahead 13-10, however, Plattsburgh closed out the quarter with five straight points that made the score 15-13 Cardinals at the end of the first quarter.

Despite Plattsburgh finishing the first quarter strong, Cortland had a strong second quarter, outscoring the Cardinals 19-2 and went into halftime with a 32-17 lead.

Cortland opened the scoring in the third quarter followed by a jumper from Walcott and another Cortland basket that made the score 36-19 Red Dragons. Another run for Cortland extended the Red Dragons' lead to 48-22 before Johannesen put in a layup and Couture knocked down a jumper cutting into the Cortland lead. Walcott closed the scoring in the third quarter with a layup that made the score 52-28 Red Dragons after three quarters of play.

The Cardinals battled back in the fourth quarter opening the quarter with a 9-0 run led by Wilson with five points that made the score 52-37 at the 7:26 mark. After both teams traded baskets making the score 55-39, Cortland went on a run that put the game out of reach as the Cardinals eventually fell 67-41.