After a ten-day break from action, the Oswego State women’s basketball team returned to the hardwood on Dec. 1 against SUNY Potsdam and Dec. 2 against Plattsburgh State. 

The Lakers welcomed the Bears to the Max Ziel Gymnasium for the team’s first conference game of the season. 

The Lakers displayed a strong defensive performance to start the game causing the Bears to go scoreless through the first five minutes of the game. Defense turned into offense which helped the Lakers close out the first quarter with a 14-7 lead. The second quarter was much like the first as the Lakers stayed in control. Neither team shot the ball well throughout the first half, but the Lakers were able to hold a 24-16 lead heading into the second half. 

The Bears found their groove in the third quarter as they started to knock down shots from all over the court. The team hit 50% of their field goals and cashed in on two three-point attempts. Despite the surge of offense, the Lakers also shot the ball well to hold a five-point lead heading into the final quarter. The Bears closed in on the five-point gap throughout the fourth quarter and cut the lead to one point with 2:14 remaining. After a back-and-forth final two minutes, the Lakers closed out the game with a bucket from Logan Castiglione to help the Lakers take the conference matchup 55-51. 

The Lakers went 18-61 from the field and 13-20 from the foul line and the Bears went 18-52 from the field and 10-17 from the foul line. The Lakers dominated the boards out rebounding the Bears 47-36. The Lakers’ depth proved to be a big factor in this game as they had 10 players get in the action and produced 27 bench points compared to the Bears who only had seven players play and produced eight bench points. 

Giavanna White-Principio had a double-double as she dropped 14 points along with 18 rebounds. Castiglione and Sydney Hoefs each tacked on seven points.

Coming off the win against the Bears, the Lakers hosted the Cardinals the next day. 

Both offenses came into play as the Lakers went 7-17 from the field and the Cardinals went 6-14 from the field in the first quarter. The Lakers stayed hot entering the second quarter as Mollie James nailed a three-pointer and a jumper to put the Lakers ahead 24-19. The Cardinals fought back to tie the game up but the Lakers finished the first half on a 10-0 run to take a 34-24 lead going into halftime. 

The Cardinals came out firing in the second half in hopes of sparking a comeback. They took advantage of the Lakers struggling to shoot the ball and connected on 50% of their own shots from the field to outscore the Lakers 21-16 in the third quarter. However, up by five points entering the last 10 minutes of the game, the Lakers shut down the comeback attempt with an 11-0 run to start the quarter. They closed out the game and beat the Cardinals by a score of 70-54.

The Lakers shot 36.8% from the field and 30% from deep but struggled at the free-throw line, shooting 57.9%. The team racked up 34 bench points, 16 points in the paint and 15 second chance points. Chastin Giles and Hoefs led the team in points with 14 each and Karleigh Leo added on another 11 points. White-Principio dominated the glass with 15 rebounds. 

The Lakers held Plattsburgh to just 30% shooting from the field and only two points off turnovers, but they did give up 28 points in the paint. 

The Lakers have won four straight games to put their record to 5-2 on the season and 2-0 in conference play. Through seven games, the Lakers average 59.7 points and allow 50.7 points per game. The team has struggled offensively, only shooting 23.4% from the field and 28.5% from beyond the arc, but the Lakers play strong defence, forcing 15.4 turnovers per game and have caused their opponents to shoot 17.9% from the field.

White-Principio and Shania Iglesias lead the team in scoring with 8.0 points per game. White-Principio, who is the SUNYAC Women’s Basketball Athlete of the Week, has been dominating the boards all year, averaging 8.1 rebounds per game, second in the conference. 

Coach Sean Pinkerton and his squad have 15 days off until their next matchup where they will take on the 1-6 SUNY Polytech Wildcats at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Dec 17 in Utica.

Photo via: Oswego Athletics