New Paltz, NY – The State University of New York at New Paltz picked up its third win of the season Tuesday night, 71-69, against Vassar College in its home opener in the Hawk Center.

The Hawks (3-1 overall) came off their first loss of the season Nov. 16 against No. 2 nationally ranked Tufts, and had no easy task in taking on the Brewers (2-2) who were also a NCAA Tournament team a year ago.

After SUNY New Paltz earned an early seven-point advantage, Vassar picked up its first lead midway through the first after a 3-pointer by Sarah Gillooly. The lead changed hands five times before the Brewers went ahead with a late bucket to end the first quarter. The Hawks trailed most of the second period until Marion Dietz tied the game with a transition 3, but Vassar answered with a quick basket on the other end to stay out in front. 
 

SUNY New Paltz freshman Maddie Gillis tied the game with a minute left in the second on a put-back in the paint, but the Brewers again had the last say, earning a trip to the line with 40 seconds remaining. After making 1-of-2, Vassar went into the half carrying a one-point advantage.

The Hawks opened up a momentum shifting third quarter with five-straight points, started with a trey by Gillis. They stayed in front the rest of the way with Vassar staying close, threatening the lead.

"I think the key in the third quarter was our defense," said SUNY New Paltz coach Jamie Seward. "We were much more aggressive and caused some more turnovers in the third and that allowed us to open up a bit of a lead. Unfortunately we weren't able to take advantage of several possessions late in the third to open up that lead even more."

The Hawks held an eight-point advantage with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter with Vassar calling a timeout after a made bucket by Gillis capped off the the run. Isa Peczuh answered for the Brewers with a 3, but Philesha Teape countered on the other end with a put-back on her own attempt to get her team back up by seven.

Vassar continued to creep back in, scoring five unanswered points to cut the deficit, 68-66 with 18 seconds left in the game. The Brewers were forced to intentionally foul to stop the clock and sent SUNY New Paltz's Paige Niemeyer to the line immediately following a timeout, as the senior sank both to push the advantage to four. Gilloly then kept the game alive for Vassar, driving toward the basket on the Brewers' ensuing possession, getting her basket to go and earning the foul. After the made free throw, the Hawks' lead was cut to one with eight seconds to go.

"We definitely had our moments where we lapse focus and we just have to focus on staying strong for the entire time, especially at the end in that fourth quarter," Gillis said. "We should have been more aware of what was going on."
Maddie Van Pelt was sent to the charity stripe for the Hawks, making 1-of-2 to create a two-point cushion with eight seconds remaining. Vassar had one final possession with an opportunity to tie or take the lead. Niemeyer narrowly got a steal on a tipped ball, but the Brewers re-gained control and kicked out a pass to Peczuh who had a look in the corner as the buzzer expired, which hit off the rim and out of play to finalize the score.

"Overall we beat a really good Vassar team," Seward said. "We were fortunate to hang on because Peczuh is going to make that one a lot more than not and she had already made some really contested ones earlier in the quarter, particularly the one with Marion draped all over her."

SUNY New Paltz shot just 36.1 percent from the field, including 27.8 percent from behind the arc, while the Brewers netted 50 percent from the floor and 50 percent (6-for-12) from 3-point range.

Niemeyer finished with a team-high 18 points in 31 minutes with five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals. Dietz and Teape followed with 16 and 15 points respectively, with Teape a rebound away from registering her fourth-straight double-double. Gillis added 13 points on a productive 6-for-13 from the floor with six rebounds and two assists in her first career start. 

"Maddie played well, but quite honestly we expect her to play well," Seward said. "She has a ton of talent and she's a very smart player. I thought we had a couple matchups we wanted to attack, including hers, and we went away from that in the last 12 minutes of the game. We have to do a better job of recognizing those types of things and take advantage."

SUNY New Paltz is back on its home court Dec. 6 and 7 when it enters conference play against SUNY Potsdam and Plattsburgh State, respectively.

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