Oswego State lost its season opener against the D’Youville Spartans on Saturday in the opening round of the Max Ziel Women’s Basketball Tournament, in what turned out to be a defensive battle, 67-61.
The Lakers opened up the game with a strong defensive presence, and a fast-paced offense beginning the game with a 15-6 run, led by Heather Hebert with eight early points. However,the Spartans did fight back and close the lead to 35-31 at halftime.
The Oswego State freshmen had an impressive first half making an immediate impact on the team. Lindsay Johnson and Courtney Amelee each had five points by halftime and Alisha Jacobs hit three three-point shots to score nine by halftime. Rachael Windhausen also contributed six rebounds of her own in the first half.
D’Youville opened up the second half on a 9-0 run, led by their tough and physical presence on the defensive end.
Oswego State did not score its first field goal in the second half until the 14:29 mark, off of a corner three-point shot by Jacobs.
Both the Spartans and the Lakers went back and forth for much of the half with the Spartans gaining the upper hand until the Lakers tied the game up at 53 with 6:45 to play.
From there, the Spartans went on an 11-3 run and did not look back.
For D’Youville, Amanda Marcley led the way with 25 points and 14 rebounds. Bridget Andrews adeed 11 points and eight rebounds.
For the Lakers, Hebert finished the game with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Among the freshmen, Windhausen finished the game with eight points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. Also, Jacobs tallied 15 points, including 4 three-pointers, Amelee had eight points and Lindsay Johnson contributed with five points and eight rebounds.
Oswego State shot just 20 percent from three-point range in the game. But, the Lakers were able to capitalize on their opponent’s turnovers, scoring 18 points off 15 Spartan giveaways.
The Lakers will play Bath Path tomorrow at 12 p.m. in the consolation game of this weekend’s tournament.
Bath Path lost earlier in the day to SUNY Cobleskill.
