NEW PALZT, NY- The New Paltz women's basketball team did what no team has ever done at New Paltz…and that is compete in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Championship game. After defeating arch rival Potsdam for the second time in three years in the first round, the Hawks battled back from as much as 15 points down in the second half to win in quadruple overtime against #2 Oneonta. For third time in the season, the Hawks would be squaring off against #1 Cortland, who swept the regular season series from the Hawks. The Hawks held the for most of the first half and took a four point advantage into the break, but the Red Dragons outscored the Hawks 13-8 down the stretch for the win.
The Hawks finished the season with an 18-10 record and 13-5 in the league. The season started off on the right foot, as they defeated Mount Saint Mary College (22-6) for the first time in nine years (2000-01). This is one of the four opponents the Hawks competed against this season that was in the 2009-10 NCAA Tournament. The Blue Knights lost in the first round to Williams, who made it to the Sweet 16. Cortland (25-4) lost to the University of Rochester (22-6) in the first round, who will be competing in the Final Four this weekend.
New Paltz then returned home for the Rino's Pizza Tip-Off Classic, which included two nationally prominent programs in Tufts University (21-6) and Farmingdale State (25-2). The Hawks first round opponent was Tufts, and in the first ever meeting between the two schools, the Hawks walked away with an 80-78 double-overtime win to advanced to the championship against Farmingdale. Farmingdale was able to clip the Hawks for a 69-63 victory in the championship. Tufts lost in the second round to Kean University (28-2), who made it to the Elite Eight. Farmingdale fell to Gettysburg (24-5) in the first round, who made it to the Sweet 16. The Hawks ended the first semester with a 5-1 record and 2-0 in the league. “The 2009-10 season certainly had its ups and downs. Early on winning games over NCAA Tournament and nationally prominent programs Mt. St. Mary and Tufts got us off to a great start that included our programs first ever vote in the “D3Hoops” Top 25 Poll” stated head coach Jamie Seward.
“Then January came, and we struggled in just about every aspect. We lost eight of 12 games to put us at 10-9 heading into the final month of the season” added Seward. “Most teams would have packed it in and simply played out the remainder of the season. However, this group was not most teams.” After falling to Cortland at home by 12, the Hawks won six games straight to close out the regular season, which included wins over Oneonta and a double-overtime game at Fredonia. The Hawks earned a third seed in the SUNYAC Tournament and hosted #6 Potsdam for the third time in a row at home. Seward credits his defense with the success down the stretch as the Hawks defended like a “championship caliber team” as he stated. The Hawks won eight straight games before falling to Cortland in the conference championship.
New Paltz had a great deal of success on the court this season, as they finished 27th in the nation in turnover margin (5.25) and 28th in steals per game (12.6). The team also was second in the conference in offensive scoring with 63 points per game and third in assists per game with 12.57. They lead the conference in steals with 12.6 and turnover margin (5.25) per game, while forcing a league high 24.1 turnovers per game.
Senior point guard Nicole Sarcone finished 10th in the nation with a 2.12 Assist/Turnover Ratio and 20th with 5.1 assists per game. She has finished in the Top 25 in assists per game and in the Top 30 in Assist/Turnover Ratio in the nation the last three years. She led the conference in assists, was second in Assist/Turnover Ratio and was fifth in steals per game with 2.25. She became the schools all-time assist leader with 486 and is fifth all-time in steals with 220. She was named to the all-conference team earning second team honors.
Senior shooting guard Kristen Caban led the conference in three-point field goals made per game with 2.14, which in turn helped the Hawks lead the conference in the same category with 5.96 per game. She averaged 8.3 points per game and led the team with 60 three-pointes made. She was named to the SUNYAC All-Tournament Team, after she hit 10 three-pointers in the tournament and scored a game-high 22 points in the final.
Senior guard Maggie Farrell led the team in scoring with 10.8 points per game and was second in rebounds per game with 5.4. She is the schools fifth leading scorer all-time with 903 points, fifth in rebounding with 536 and seventh in steals with 173. She earned second team all-conference for play this season.
Senior forward Carly Minehan was second in scoring with 9.1 per game and grabbed 6.3 rebounds a game. She closes out her career as the schools 10th all-time scoring leader with 816 and fourth in rebounds with 582.
“It is going to be impossible to replace this senior class. As people and as leaders they are a special, special group. As a coach, it is so comforting to know what that you have six players who have your back in the locker room and who were always wanting the same things” said Seward.
“Nevertheless, we have an extremely talented group returning and the expectations are higher than ever” stated Seward. Freshman center Alexandra McCullough came on strong the second part of the season, as she led the team in blocks with 25 and scored a career-high 25 points in the quadruple overtime win over Oneonta in the SUNYAC semifinal game, helping her earn All-Tournament Team. “Maliqua Fisher demonstrated strong leadership potential as a freshman, and it will be exciting to watch her transition to the next phase” added Seward.
