The Oswego State’s women’s basketball team faced off against the New Paltz Hawks for the SUNYAC semifinals. Both teams fought hard to make it to the SUNYAC finals, but alas there could only be one winner. The Lakers made their fans proud in the first quarter, earning 14 points while only allowing the Hawks to get eight points in. Two minutes into the first quarter Shania Iglesias put the Lakers on the scoreboard with a good jumpshot, earning two points. Followed by a three pointer from Giavanna White-Principio with an assist from Iglesias. 

A couple seconds later the Hawks attempted to catch up with a jump shot, earning them two points themselves, but the Lakers did not let up. Too determined to win they got control of the ball and White-Principio made a lay-up putting the Lakers at seven points. Just seconds later Elaina Johnson came with her own lay-up putting the Lakers at nine points. They continued on a scoring streak with Syndey Hoefs making a jump shot assisted by White-Principio, a lay up by Iglesias assisted by Hoefs and a free throw by Iglesias putting the lakers at 14 while the Hawks stayed with the two points they earned earlier. Feeling the pressure and seeing the success of the Lakers put some fuel into the Hawks and they decided to try to catch up, but still were not able to.

The second period was a much different experience for the Lakers. The Hawks came back with a vengeance, tying up the score in the first three minutes of the period putting them at a tie (14-14). A little too close for comfort, White-Principio made a lay up with an assist from Macy Deordio to put the Lakers back in the lead with 16 points. Unfortunately with one three-pointer the Hawks were in the lead by just one point. From there sparked a back and forth between the Lakers and the Hawks trying to get one point up on each other. Shot after shot, some missed and some made. The Hawks were able to gain the lead in this quarter, putting their score at 26, while the Lakers made it to 19 points.

Within seconds of the third period, Iglesias scored two points from a lay-up, putting the Lakers in the 20s. This did not last long as the Hawks scored their own two points, putting them at 28 points. This was followed by another lay-up putting them in the 30s. The Lakers took control of the ball and with an assist from Hoefs, Johnson made a good lay-up putting them at 23 points. Seven points behind and feeling the Lakers on their back, the Hawks set out to further the gap between the two teams and in under two minutes with a good free throw, lay-up and a three-pointer, they were able to do so by putting them up to 40 points. The Lakers struggled to close the gap between them and were able to get closer and closer with a lay-up that put them at 31. A heated back and forth commenced with each team taking their turn to make as many shots as possible. In the last minute of the quarter, the Lakers made a good free throw and a jump shot in the last two seconds. Was it enough to bring them back to the winning side? The Lakers lost the quarter, just seven points behind the Hawks (39-46).

In the last quarter of the SUNYAC semifinals, the Lakers had a small way to go, just eight points needed to get in the lead and to win. With this in mind they came back swinging. In under a minute Iglesias made a jump shot in the first minute of the quarter. The Hawks made their own shots a few seconds later and they continued to take turns, until four minutes into the quarter. The Lakers were on a scoring streak with Johnson making two free throws, Hoefs making both a lay-up and a free throw, putting the Lakers just two points behind the Hawks. The Hawks, determined to win the game, had their own scoring streak, furthering the distance from the Lakers. It was hard to play catch-up with them, but the Lakers sure did try. However, with 30 seconds left in the quarter with the Lakers being at 56 points and the Hawks being at 66, it was a difficult win. With 16 seconds left in the quarter, the Lakers were able to get the last score with Julie Tanenblatt earning them two points leaving them at 58-66. The Lakers had a good run and played a good game, but unfortunately they lost this match by eight points. 

This completes the season for the women’s basketball team, but they had a good season with a 17-10 overall record and a 13-5 in the SUNYAC. We cannot wait to see them for the 2025-2026 season!

Photo by: Oswego Athletics