PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Junior guard/forward
Taylor Durnin (Lyon Mountain, N.Y. / Northern Adirondack) drove in the winning basket in the Plattsburgh State women's basketball 59-57 win over New England College Friday night inside Memorial Hall to help them advance to the Cardinal Classic championship game.
Plattsburgh State is now 2-0 while New England drops to 1-2.
Durnin led the team with 14 points, senior guard/forward
Bella DePasquale (Ardsley, N.Y./Ardsley) scored 10 points, freshman guard/forward
Kelly Degnan (Irvington, N.Y. / Irvington) came off the bench to record nine points and junior forward
Frannie Merkel (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) had eight points.
Degnan had a team high of six rebounds and freshmen forward
Kayla Doody (Troy, N.Y. / Tamarac) had a team high of five assists and four steals.
DePasquale drained a three-pointer to start the game followed by Merkel with a jumper.
Plattsburgh State led 5-0 for two minutes before New England was able to put a point on the board with one free throw and tied the game 5-5 with 6:02 left in the first quarter.
New England tied the quarter three more times before DePasquale drained another three to keep the Cardinals afloat heading into the second quarter.
The Pilgrims took a one-point lead in the second and the Cardinals went on an 11-point run to take it back.
Durnin made a free throw, junior guard
Christina Testa (Oyster Bay, N.Y. / Oyster Bay) put in a layup, Degnan made a free throw, Doody had two free throws, Testa made a three-pointer and Merkel had a good layup for a ten-point cushion.
The Pilgrims out-scored the Cardinals 8-7 in the remaining six minutes but Plattsburgh State prevailed and headed into halftime up 33-25.
New England out-scored Plattsburgh State 16-11 in the third quarter but the Cardinals held a three-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Pilgrims came within one point with 5:29 remaining and tied the game 57-57 with 27 seconds left.
The Cardinals called a time out, advanced and gave the ball to Durnin who put in a last second layup to win the game.
New England out-rebounded the Cardinals 46-33 but Plattsburgh State was able to score 11 points off the Pilgrims 23 turnovers.
Plattsburgh State will take on The Sage Colleges in the Cardinals Classic Championship game on Saturday at 3 p.m.
