PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's basketball outscored the Kangaroos in the second quarter 24-12 en route to a 72-64 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) win over Canton on Friday night at Memorial Hall. Sophomore guard Julia Greek (Long Island, N.Y. / Ward Melville) was the catalyst on the offensive end for the Cardinals with a career-high 21 points to go with two rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

Junior guard Jaden Wilson (Johnstown. N.Y. / Johnstown) had a strong performance on the night with 18 points, three rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Sophomore guard Selma Deisz (Bekkestua, Norway / Nadderud VGS) was in double figures as well with a career-high 16 points as well as three rebounds, two steals, and one assist. Senior guard/forward Payton Couture (Redford, N.Y. / Saranac) led the Cardinals in rebounds with 11 to go with eight points.

For the Kangaroos, Sierra Pabo led the team in scoring with 20 points while Natalie Bartle led the team in rebounding with a game-high 17 and in assists with a game-high five. Bartle and Kat McRobbie-Taru both had 12 points.

The Cardinals were efficient from the field, shooting 43.9%, and were 41.2% from behind the arc knocking down 7 of 17 while the Kangaroos shot a solid 34.8% from the field and 29.4% from the three. The Kangaroos shot better from the stripe knocking down 11 of 15 at 73.3% while the Cardinals only made 7 of 13 at 53.8%. The Kangaroos won the rebounding battle 46-38 and had a slim lead in second-chance points 7-5. The Cardinals had fewer turnovers than the Kangaroos and got 17 points off turnovers compared to Kangaroos 10.

Plattsburgh State rises to 9-4 (5-1 SUNYAC) with the win and next hosts Oswego State tomorrow, Jan. 18 at 2 p.m. Canton falls to 6-6 (2-4 SUNYAC) with the loss and next travels to Potsdam tomorrow, Jan. 18 at 2 p.m.

The first quarter was tightly contested to start after a three-pointer by Torie Moore and a layup from Greek tied the score at 7 at the 5:12 mark. Back-to-back baskets from Canton gave the Kangaroos an 11-9 lead, however, a free throw from Imani Walcott (Albany, N.Y. / Albany) brought the Cardinals within one before back-to-back baskets again from Canton made the score 15-10 Kangaroos at the 1:50 mark. Both teams traded layups and made the score 17-12 Kangaroos at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Cardinals jumped out in front powered by a 12-0 run led by Wilson with eight points that made the score 29-25 Cardinals at the 3:00 mark. A free throw from Pabo ended the run but a quick 5-0 burst from Plattsburgh extended the Cardinals' lead to 36-27 before Pabo knocked down a jumper and made the score 36-29 Cardinals at halftime.  

Canton opened the third quarter with a 6-0 run and came within one, but a Greek three-pointer ended the run and made the score 38-35 Cardinals at the 6:11 mark. The Kangaroos came within one point again however four straight points from Deisz extended the Cardinals lead to 42-37 at the 4:17 mark. A jumper from McRobbie-Taru cut the Cardinals' lead to one, however, an 11-0 tear that featured three-pointers from Wilson, Deisz, and Greek gave the Cardinals a 55-43 lead after three quarters of play.

The Cardinals held on to their double-digit for the majority of the fourth quarter until a three-pointer from McRobbie with less than a minute to play made the score 59-67. Couture responded with a layup but five straight points from Pabo brought Canton within four and made the score 68-64 but the Cardinals closed out the fourth with four straight points and held on to win 72-64.