Box Score MARCY, N.Y. – The SUNY Polytechnic Women's Basketball Team (3-3) staged a comeback in the second half of Saturday's nonconference game with the Cortland State (7-1), but it wasn't enough as the Red Dragons held on for a 69-57 victory over the Wildcats.
The Red Dragons shot just 40% for the game, but were able to hold the Wildcats to 31% while forcing 19 turnovers.
The Wildcats held an 18-16 lead with 9:13 to go in the first half after a jumper by Geena Gallo (Ballston Spa, N.Y. / Ballston Spa). That would be the last lead SUNY Poly held, however, as the Cortland went on a 20-2 run to end the half. The Wildcats were held without a field goal during the run, and didn't score until Gallo knocked down a pair of free throws with just 6 seconds to go in the half.
To SUNY Poly's credit, the Wildcats battled back and actually out-scored the Red Dragons in the second half, 37-33. With just over 5 minutes to go in the game Molly MacLachlan (Marcellus, N.Y. / Marcellus) buried a three-pointer to cut the Red Dragon lead to 11, then another jumper by Geena Gallo got the deficit to single-digits with 4 minutes left to play, 61-52.
But Sarah Seeger responded with a jumper for Cortland on the other end, and the Red Dragons made enough free throws down the stretch to hold on for a 12-point victory.
MacLachlan led SUNY Poly with 14 points, 12 of which came on three-pointers. Her fellow rookie Paige Gallo (Ballston Spa, N.Y. / Ballston Spa) also shot well on the day, finishing 3-of-7 from long range for 9 points.
Lauren Knowles (Salisbury Mills, N.Y. / Washingtonville) had another solid game on the interior for SUNY Poly. She finished with 12 points on 5-for-11 shooting while pulling down a team-high 9 boards.
For the Red Dragons it was Brittney Dumas leading the way. The forward didn't have her best shooting night (5-18 from the field), but led the visitors with 13 points and 11 rebounds, the only double-double of the game.
The Wildcats won't play another home game for quite some time, returning to the Campus Center Gym on January 21st to host Morrisville State. Up next for the 'Cats is Springfield College, whom the Wildcats will face in Daytona Beach, Fla., as part of the Daytona Beach Shootout next weekend. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 pm on Friday, December 19th.
