The 2019 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) women's basketball first round playoffs are in the books with No. 5 Brockport and No. 6 Fredonia gaining victories. The Golden Eagles defeated the Cortland Red Dragons 55-53, while the Blue Devils defeated the Oneonta Red Dragons 59-51.
On Friday in New Paltz, No. 2 Geneseo will play No. 6 Fredonia at 5:30 p.m. and No. 1 New Paltz will take on No. 5 Brockport at 7:30 pm .
In Cortland, Brockport battled until the very end to a 55-53 victory over Cortland. The two teams exchanged pushes throughout the entire game with a tied score of 53-53 under two minutes remaining in the game. In the first quarter Brockport struck first 12-10. Cortland answered back with a 15-12 run, leading at the half by one, 25-24. With a 17-12 run the Golden Eagles took back the lead, 41-37. Although Cortland outscored Brockport 16-14 in the fourth quarter, it was not enough to continue their post season. With 0:32 left on the clock in the fourth quarter, Brockport senior Emily Nestler scored the tie breaking, bracket busting, game winning shot to help lead her team to a win.
In Oneonta, sixth-seeded Fredonia overcame the odds defeating the third-seeded Oneonta, 59-51. At the half Fredonia led 26-23. Being down since 1:11 remaining in the second quarter, Oneonta fought their way back into the game tying the score up at 44-44 with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The score was tied a total of four times within the last five minutes of the game. With 2:27 remaining in the game, Oneonta took the lead 51-50. However, Fredonia pushed through to go on a nine point scoring run to finish victoriously and move on to the semifinals.