– After trailing by as much as 17 points the Plattsburgh State women's basketball team came within five points with less than a minute remaining but ultimately fell short 67-55 in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action after the Lakers ended the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run. Junior center Imani Walcott (Albany, N.Y. / Albany) led the Cardinals in scoring with 12 points to go with a team-high 12 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season.

Sophomore guard Julia Greek (Long Island, N.Y. / Ward Melville) had a solid outing as well with 11 points, two steals, a rebound, and an assist while senior guard/forward Payton Couture (Redford, N.Y. / Saranac) contributed nine points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and two steals just falling one point short of the double-double. Kathy Peterson-Ross (Lake Forest, Ill. / Lake Forest) and Jaden Wilson (Johnstown, N.Y. / Johnstown) both recorded eight points. Peterson-Ross had a strong day on the boards with 10 rebounds to go with four steals and an assist while Wilson had two rebounds and a steal. Kayla Johannesen (Hyde Park, N.Y. / Our Lady of Lourdes) had six points, three rebounds, an assist, and a steal in the effort.

For the Lakers, Macey DeOrdio led all scorers in points with 24 to go with nine rebounds and a game-high five steals. Sydney Hoefs and Shania Iglesias were both in double figures with 17 and 12 points respectively and Giovanna White-Principio led all players in rebounds with 13.

The Cardinals didn't have a great shooting night, shooting 29.3% from the field, 22.2% from the three, and 50.0% from the free throw line while the Lakers shot 34.4% from the field, 35.0% from the three, and 85.7% from the free throw line. The Lakers had the advantage in rebounding 51-47 however the Cardinals recorded more offensive rebounds leading to 22 second-chance points compared to the Lakers 14. Despite the Lakers recording more turnovers the Cardinals didn't take advantage, only recording 11 points off turnovers while the Lakers had 17.

Plattsburgh State moves to 12-10 (8-7 SUNYAC) with the loss and next play tomorrow, Feb. 15 when they travel to Canton for a 2 p.m. tip-off. Oswego State moves to 14-8 (11-4 SUNYAC) with the win and next hosts Potsdam tomorrow, Feb. 15 at 2 p.m.

After the Lakers opened up a 5-0 lead, the Cardinals finally got on the board when Walcott put in a layup but another five straight points for the Lakers pushed Oswego's lead to 10-2 at the 7:08 mark. A 5-0 burst from the Cardinals that featured a layup from Johannesen and a three-pointer from Greek cut into the Lakers' double-digit lead before Iglesias responded with a three-pointer of her own and made the score 19-9 at the end of the first.  

The second quarter started with both teams exchanging layups and nearly halfway through the quarter, Peterson-Ross knocked down a three-pointer that made the score 23-14 Lakers at the 6:03 mark. An and-one layup from  DeOrdio pushed the Lakers lead back to double-digits, however, Wilson responded with three points of her own and cut the lead to 26-17 at the 5:20 mark. A 6-0 run from the Lakers pushed Oswego's lead to 32-17, however, Plattsburgh countered with back-to-back layups that made the score 33-22 at halftime.

Despite the Cardinals opening the third quarter with a jumper from Greek, the Lakers controlled the third quarter using a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 44-28 at the 4:56 mark. Peterson-Ross ended the run momentarily after knocking down a jumper but back-to-back baskets gave the Lakers their largest lead at 49-30 at the 2:43 mark. The Cardinals closed out the third quarter with back-to-back layups from Walcott and Johannesen followed by another layup from Johannesen that made the score 51-36 after three quarters of play.

The fourth quarter saw the Cardinals storm back as they outscored the Lakers 19-16 but ultimately fell short 67-55. After trailing by double-digits for the majority of the fourth quarter, Plattsburgh used a 9-0 tear led by Couture and Peterson-Ross with three points each that made the score 60-55 with less than a minute remaining as the Cardinals came within five points. However, Oswego responded with a 7-0 run after knocking down 7 of 8 free throws as the Cardinals weren't able to generate any offense and ultimately fell 67-55.