PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – After a strong second quarter from the Cardinals tied the game at 27 at halftime, the Plattsburgh State women's basketball team was outscored 31-7 in the second half and fell 58-34 to Oswego State in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play at home on Saturday evening. Sophomore guard Julia Greek (Long Island, N.Y. / Ward Melville) had a team-high 10 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

Payton Couture (Redford, N.Y. / Saranac) and Jaden Wilson (Johnstown, N.Y. / Johnstown) contributed six points in the overall effort while Couture tied for a team-high in rebounds with 10 to go with two steals and Wilson had two rebounds. Imani Walcott (Albany, N.Y. / Albany) also had 10 rebounds and contributed five points and three blocks. Kathy Peterson-Ross (Lake Forest, Ill. / Lake Forest) made an impact on the defensive end grabbing two steals and three rebounds to go with three points.

For the Lakers, Giavanna White-Principio had a game-high 15 points and tied for a team-high in rebounds with eight. Shania Iglesias and Elaina had 11 and 10 points respectively while Macey DeOrdio led all players in assists with six.

The Cardinals only shot 18.3% from the field and 17.4% from the three compared to the Lakers who shot a solid 33.3% from the field and only 22.2% from three. The Cardinals were efficient from the free throw line knocking down 8 of 11 at 72.7% while the Lakers only shot 66.7% The Lakers won the rebounding battle 52-42 but only recorded two more second-chance points than the Cardinals with seven to the Cardinals' five. The Cardinals only had eight points off turnovers while the Lakers had 21.

Plattsburgh State moves to 9-5 (5-2 SUNYAC) with the loss and next hosts Oneonta on Friday, Jan. 24 at 5:30 p.m. Oswego State moves to 7-7 (4-3 SUNYAC) with the win and next travels to Oneonta on Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 5:30 p.m.

The Lakers wasted no time in the first quarter and took control early thanks to a 12-0 run, however, the Cardinals responded with five straight points off a layup from Kayla Johannesen (Hyde Park, N.Y. / Our Lady of Lourdes) and a three-pointer from Peterson-Ross that made the score 12-5 Lakers at the 3:39 mark. Walcott made two free throws and cut into the Lakers' lead, but Oswego scored five straight points to end the first and pushed their lead to 19-7 at the end of the first quarter.  

The second quarter saw the Cardinals battle back and tie the game at halftime and it started with an 8-0 burst that featured back-to-back three-pointers from Wilson and made the score 19-15 Lakers at the 7:40 mark. After the Lakers pushed their lead to nine, another run for Plattsburgh brought the Cardinals within five and made the score 26-21 Lakers at the 3:26 mark. Then six straight points from Greek capped off by a three-pointer to end the second quarter tied the game at 27 at halftime.

After a layup from Couture cut the Lakers' lead to two and made the score 31-29, Oswego outscored the Cardinals 9-0 the rest of the quarter and pushed their lead to 40-29 after three quarters of play.

The Lakers continued to control the game after starting the fourth with an 8-0 run before Lauren LaFountain (Saratoga Springs, N.Y. / Saratoga Springs) ended the run with two free throws and made the score 48-31 at the 6:01 mark. However, the Cardinals only scored three more points and couldn't cut into the Lakers' lead, ultimately falling 58-34.