The Oswego State women’s basketball team faced off against SUNY Cortland and SUNY New Paltz, two top teams in the SUNYAC, on Jan. 27 and 30. 

The Lakers first traveled to face the Cortland Red Dragons. Starting off the first quarter, the Lakers managed to hold a seven-point lead on the Red Dragons after a jump shot made by Shania Iglesias. A free throw made by Mariah Huss brought the Red Dragons only one point behind the Lakers. With 1:29 remaining in the quarter, Julia Logan clenched a layup which resulted in the Lakers being in the lead 15-14 to end the first quarter. 

Making their way into the second quarter, the Lakers kept a lead on the Red Dragons, until two free throws made by Emily Morano and a 3-pointer by Sophie Bissallion put the Red Dragons in the lead 19-17. Karleigh Leo drained a 3-pointer with 3:27 on the clock, which tied up the game 24-24. Logan Streety broke this tie on a jumper with 1:11 left on the clock, putting the Red Dragons in the lead 28-26 to end the second quarter. 

In the second half of this matchup, Iglesias earned the Lakers five quick points to begin the third quarter, pushing their offense. The Red Dragons responded quickly and still kept themselves in the lead after a 3-pointer was made by Jackie Funk. Heading into the fourth and final quarter, the Lakers trailed the Red Dragons by four points.With 55 seconds left in the game, a layup and two free throws made by Brooke Tillotson and two free throws made by Huss put the Red Dragons up nine points. The Lakers tried to respond, but could not keep up with the Red Dragon’s offense, falling to Cortland 64-72. 

After heading out on the road, the Lakers traveled back home to face the SUNY New Paltz Hawks, who lead the SUNYAC. 

To kick things off, the Hawks secured the first points of the game through a floating jump shot. Responding quickly, Holmes earned two points for the Lakers to tie up the game. Firing back, a layup by Abby Korzekwinski put the Hawks back in the lead, leaving the Lakers unable to catch up. The first quarter ended with a score of 10-9. The Hawks heated things up quickly in the second quarter, with Jenny Walton putting them in the lead by four points with a layup early on. A layup made by Holmes with just under six minutes left of the quarter brought the Lakers back up to speed, but the Hawks quickly put themselves up to a six-point lead through multiple free throw opportunities. The Lakers managed to trail the Hawks by three points to end the first half in a score of 22-19, after a 3-pointer made by Holmes right before the half. 

Opening up the third quarter, the Hawks automatically shut down the Lakers defense, managing an 11-point lead on the Lakers. In the last two minutes of the quarter, the Lakers held the Hawks off from scoring and made four free throws, which left the score standing at 37-26. Although neither team earned any points to start the fourth quarter, two free throws by Elaina Johnson and a layup by Sydney Hoefs with 8:31 left on the clock brought the Lakers trailing behind the Hawks by seven points. By the end of the fourth quarter, a free throw made by Julia Sabatino brought the Hawks up by ten points, and the Lakers fell to the Hawks in a final score of 54-44. 

The Lakers continue their SUNYAC matchups as they will head to Plattsburgh on Feb. 2 to face the Cardinals.

Photo via: Oswego Athletics