New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz improved to 4-0 in conference play Tuesday in the Hawk Center after a convincing, 82-36 win over Oswego State.

After a lackluster performance against SUNY Oneonta three days earlier, the Hawks (9-2 overall, 4-0 SUNYAC) put an emphasis on energy from the opening tip and it translated into a quick 13-3 lead. They took advantage of the Lakers zone defense, as Paige Niemeyer helped get the offense started after finding teammate Maddie Van Pelt on the block on three of four of the team's opening offensive possessions. Van Pelt took advantage and ignited a hot start. She ultimately knocked down 5-of-5 attempts in the first quarter alone.
 
"We established inside right away when they came out in zone and we went high-low I think three times on three successful possessions," said SUNY New Paltz coach Jamie Seward. "I think we got layups every time and that is something that we didn't do the other day against Oneonta, even though that was the game plan... That pulled them out of their zone and they had trouble matching up with us without their best player... They didn't want to play man and they were kind of forced to because we did a nice job against the zone early."

SUNY New Paltz extended its cushion to 24 at the end of the first 10 minutes, shooting 11-for-17 from the field (65 percent) to notch a season-high for a quarter. Although the Hawks didn't match their offensive production in the following period, they allowed their defense to lead the way and caused seven more Laker turnovers. Ultimately, they forced Oswego into 38 turnovers in the game — a season-high for the opposition — and capitalized with 42 points on the offensive end of floor.

"After our tough, squeak-through win against Oneonta we really emphasized yesterday and today bringing more energy every single time," said Hawks freshman guard/forward Maddie Gillis. "Every single time we step into the building, onto the court, we just knew if we had more energy than the whole team would get going and it would mean we had to start strong."
 
SUNY New Paltz didn't let up in the second half and continued moving the ball well against Oswego's defense and hit good looks from around the perimeter. Lexi Van Vorst, Cassidy Deaver and Gillis came off the bench and combined for 13-for-26 from the field, including 7-for-14 from behind the arc for 33 points. Seven of Gillis' 12 points came in the fourth quarter to help her team put away the 46-point victory.

"After focusing on our confidence the last few weeks, making shots today and just starting out strong it really boosted it," said Gillis. "Plus we were able to do what we wanted on defense and make them [do] what we want them to do, so that helped."

SUNY New Paltz led by as many as 51 in the game and locked down defensively to never give Oswego any hope of getting back into the game. It had five players in double-figure points including Marion Dietz (13), Maddie Van Pelt (12), Olivia Badura (10), Van Vorst (12) and Gillis.

Van Pelt added a team-high six rebounds, while Badura followed with five boards and three assists. Gillis had a solid all around game, recording four rebounds, three assists and one steal.

"It was really nice to see a lot of people play well," Seward said. "As we said to them after the game, when all of our players are playing at the level they are capable of playing, with the confidence that allows them to play at that level than we have a lot of different things we can do. We are very versatile and have a lot of different dimensions. Different lineups we can play, different styles we can play with those different lineups and it makes it tough to match up against us. Tonight a lot of people looked like they were heading in that direction, so that was really good to see."

The Hawks set season-high's in assists (20) and steals (22) in the game, while finishing with their most productive offensive night in their last few games after shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 45.2 percent (14-31) from distance – matching a season-high for 3-pointers made.

"I think we forced some turnovers and that got us some easy baskets, but I think at one point we were getting open shots from behind the arc, but we were settling for them even though they were good shots," said Seward. "It's kind of a fine line you have to navigate and we mentioned that during a media timeout, and they came out and attacked the basket again… When you're making perimeter shots and attacking the basket, and able to score around the rim then obviously you are very difficult to guard. There are going to be games where we don't shoot the ball anything like [tonight] and we need to have that ability to score around the rim. We didn't have that the other day. I think that is why we had trouble putting points on the board. Today we made some shots and I think your confidence goes along with that too."

SUNY New Paltz hopes to bring that confidence with them on the road this weekend against two State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) rivals in SUNY Geneseo and The College at Brockport. 

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