The Oswego State women’s basketball team finished their regular season against two SUNYAC opponents in SUNY Fredonia and Buffalo on Feb. 16 and 17. All the Lakers needed was one win to clinch a playoff berth.
The Lakers first matchup was against the Blue Devils and it was a battle from the beginning. Constant lead changes kept supporters on the edge of their seats until the game’s final seconds as late-game heroics by the Blue Devils pushed them to a win.
The Lakers’ offense was hot in the first quarter as Giavanna White-Principio led them to an 11-9 lead. A 3-pointer by Zhane Holmes, then one by White-Principio catapulted that lead to eight. The Blue Devils put up a couple of layups in the final minutes to bring the score to 17-13 heading into the second.
The Blue Devils very quickly got their first lead of the game, as they rattled off layups and splashed a 3-pointer to bring it to 20-17. Shania Iglesias responded in seconds, as she splashed a three of her own to take away the Blue Devils’ only lead of the game so far. A Holmes three and White-Principio four points later, the Lakers found themselves leading at halftime 27-24.
The Lakers came out of the gate scoring as Macey DeOrio hit the first 3-pointer of the second half. A scoring drought in the middle of the quarter for the Lakers allowed the Blue Devils to tie the game with three minutes left. Holmes finished the quarter hitting jumper after jumper, bringing the Lakers lead to 43-37.
A quick jumper by Logan Castiglione brought the lead to eight, giving the Lakers a good cushion for the rest of the game. However, the Lakers froze up in the final quarter, only scoring seven points in the final nine minutes of the game. The Blue Devils slowly crawled back and tied the game up with a minute left. The Lakers missed all their shots in the final minute, as the Blue Devils had five points mostly off free throws to bring the score to 57-52 to end it.
The Lakers stood on business heading into their matchup against the Bengals on Senior Day with playoff implications on the line. The Lakers’ offense and defense were both their best in this matchup as they won 68-47.
The Lakers had a terrific start in the first quarter, leading 8-0 after three minutes. Karleigh Leo hit a 3-pointer to put the Lakers ahead 13-2, and Castiglione added one of her own. Rebounds and steals were the reason the Lakers put up so many points in the first quarter. The Lakers defense only allowed five points in the first, as they led 23-5 heading into the second.
White-Principio scored first in the second quarter, followed by a Holmes three. The Bengals stormed back, tying the Lakers 14-14 in points. The Bengals created numerous opportunities for the Lakers with turnovers but the Lakers struggled, however, shooting only 28.6% from the floor. At halftime, the Lakers led 55-29.
The Lakers never had a lead of less than 17 points for the rest of the game, but the Bengals did play better in the final quarter. Despite the Bengals outscoring the Lakers 18-13, the Lakers scored routinely to hold onto their lead. A Bengals jump shot ended the game at a score of 68-47.
The no.5 seed Lakers moved on to face the no.4 seed SUNY Brockport Golden Eagles on Feb. 20. The Golden Eagles just ten days before this matchup beat the Lakers 71-55. The Lakers had to travel out to Brockport once again in hopes of extending their season.
The Golden Eagles tried a 3-pointer to set the tone for this game but missed. DeOrio did what the Golden Eagles could not and splashed a three to put the first points up in the game. After a layup from the Golden Eagles, the Lakers went on a 12-0 run that lasted nearly six minutes. DeOrdio took possession of the ball and drained a buzzer-beating layup to finish the first quarter, the score heading into the second 20-9.
A 3-pointer by Leo brought it to 23-9, but the Lakers were cold in the subsequent minutes. The Golden Eagles slowly brought their deficit only to six, but DeOrio put the Lakers on her back hitting three after three. DeOrio hit four 3-point attempts in a row, going seven out of seven from the line in the first half. 37-19 was the score at halftime.
Holmes got things started in the third quarter with a jump shot off a pass from DeOrdio. Following this, DeOrio hit her eighth three-pointer, tying the SUNYAC playoff record. She also broke the Oswego program record for most 3-pointers in a game. The Lakers outscored the Golden Eagles 17-12, as Sydney Hoefs made a buzzer-beating jump jumper bringing the score to 54-31.
The Lakers’ lead never went under 20 in the final quarter of the game as they dominated by a score of 70-47. The Lakers move on to play the no.1 seed SUNY New Paltz on Feb. 23.
Photo by: Vanessa Choquette
