After beating SUNY Brockport on Feb. 20 in the first round of the SUNYAC tournament, the Oswego State women’s basketball team faced the SUNY New Paltz Hawks in the semifinals on Feb. 23. The Lakers have not beaten the Hawks since 2017 and that streak continues as New Paltz barely squeaked by, winning 55-53.
Both offenses struggled early, until Sydney Hoefs splashed a 3-pointer to put the Lakers up 4-2 at the eight-minute mark. Zhane Holmes subsequently led a fastbreak after a defensive rebound and hit a jumper. Then Macey DeOrio drilled a three to put the Lakers up 9-2.
The Lakers were red-hot from the 3-point line in the first quarter, shooting 66%. DeOrio stole the ball in the waning seconds of the first, and hit another 3-pointer to put the Lakers up by a score of 20-10.
The second quarter kicked off with missed 3-pointers from both sides in the first 90 seconds. Giavanna White-Principio ended the stalemate with a layup after a timeout from the Lakers. The Hawks finally started to hit their shots, bucketing back-to-back 3-pointers to bring their deficit to eight.
Logan Nyemchek hit a layup following this to bring the Lakers’ lead back to double-digits. The Hawks had two fastbreak layups in quick succession, but a jumper from Logan Castiglione brought the score to 28-20 with four minutes to go. Both defenses were clamping in the final four minutes, as the only score came from a Hawks’ jumper with two and a half minutes left. The score was 28-22 heading into halftime.
The Lakers finally broke their cold streak early in the third quarter, after DeOrio snagged a rebound and hit a transition layup. After a missed 3-pointer from Holmes, White-Principio took control of the ball, grabbing two defensive rebounds and subsequent layups. Holmes was still involved, as both scores were assisted by her. After great shooting from the Lakers, their lead was built all the way to 15 after another layup from White-Principio. The Hawks clawed their way back, hitting jumper after jumper and a 3-pointer to bring their deficit to six. DeOrio once again ended a quarter with a 3-pointer, as the Lakers led 44-35 heading into the final ten minutes.
The Hawks opened the fourth quarter with a jumper that was immediately responded to by a White-Principio layup. Seconds later, the Hawks hit a 3-pointer and in the same minute hit another one to bring their deficit down to three. The Lakers got back on the board with a layup from Hoefs, which was responded to by another 3-pointer from the Hawks.
The Lakers got into foul trouble in the back half of the fourth. This gave the Hawks six points off free throws and put them right back with a score of 52-52 with a minute and a half to go. After a timeout, the Hawks drilled a jumper which ended up being the dagger of the game; DeOrio missed a 3-pointer with five seconds left and the Hawks barely got by, winning 55-53.
The Lakers needed a SUNYAC tournament win to clinch their spot in the NCAA Women’s Div.III Tournament, so this semifinals loss ended their season. With only two seniors on the team, the Lakers will return with the majority of the same cast in the 2024-25 season.
Photo by: Vanessa Choquette
