CANTON, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's basketball team clinched a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) playoff berth for the first time since 2015 on Saturday evening despite falling to Canton 58-46 in road SUNYAC action. After Plattsburgh cut Canton's lead to as low as three, the Kangaroos outscored the Cardinals 11-2 for the rest of the quarter as Plattsburgh ultimately fell 58-46. Senior guard/forward Payton Couture (Redford, N.Y. / Saranac) led all scorers with 21 points to go with a career-high 15 rebounds and three assists as she recorded her sixth double-double of the season.

Julia Greek (Long Island, N.Y. / Ward Melville) and Imani Walcott (Albany, N.Y. / Albany) had solid outings with nine and eight points respectively while Greek also contributed three steals, two rebounds, and two assists and Walcott had seven rebounds, two steals, an assist, and a block. Junior guard Jaden Wilson (Johnstown, N.Y. / Johnstown) contributed five points, five rebounds, an assist, and a block in the overall effort while sophomore guard Selma Deisz (Bekkestua, Norway / Nadderud VGS) grabbed a career-high nine rebounds.

For the Kangaroos, Hope Aniceto led her team in scoring with 18 points followed by Natalie Bartle with 16 points. Sierra Pabo was also in double figures with 10 points while Torie Moore led her team with nine rebounds.

While the Cardinals were efficient from the free throw line, shooting 15 of 19 at 78.9% they only shot 25.5% from the field and 21.7% from the three-point line. The Kangaroos shot better from the field and three-point line, shooting 33.8% and 35.0% while shooting 70.0% from the free throw line. The Cardinals dominated the battle on the boards 46-35, recording 12 second-chance points to the Kangaroos 11. The Kangaroos committed fewer turnovers on the day while recording 18 points off turnovers compared to the Cardinals' three.

Plattsburgh State moves to 12-11 (8-8 SUNYAC) with the loss and is back in action on Friday, Feb. 21 when they host Buffalo State for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off. Canton moves to 14-9 (9-7 SUNYAC) with the win and is back in action on Friday, Feb. 21 at 5:30 p.m. when they host Morrisville.

After Walcott got Plattsburgh on the board early with two free throws, the Cardinals offense kept on rolling when Wilson and Couture knocked down back-to-back three-pointers that gave the Cardinals a 10-2 lead at the 6:08 mark. However, Canton responded with a 5-0 burst and after both teams exchanged three-pointers the Cardinals led 15-10 at the 2:22 mark before taking a 17-13 lead into the second quarter.

Walcott once again opened the quarter with free throws to add to the Cardinals' lead, but Canton battled back as Bartle scored five straight points to tie the game at 21 before Canton took a 23-21 lead at the 5:09 mark. The teams went back and forth and tied the game at 23 and again at 25 before a 9-0 run from Canton to end the quarter gave the Kangaroos a 32-25 lead at halftime.

Midway through the third quarter, Greek knocked down a three-pointer as the Cardinals came within three points but two free throws from Aniceto and a jumper from Pabo pushed the Kangaroos lead to 41-34 at the 3:53 mark. Plattsburgh continued to keep it close using a quick 5-0 burst that featured three points from Couture and two points from Greek but still trailed 45-40 after three quarters of play.

The Cardinals started the fourth quarter hot as Couture scored four straight points for Plattsburgh bringing the Cardinals within three and making the score 47-43 at the 6:37 mark. However, Canton didn't take long to respond, countering with an 11-0 run that pushed their lead to double figures and put the game out of reach as Plattsburgh fell 58-46.