New Paltz, NY – During the past week of practice in preparation for SUNY Potsdam, the State University of New York at New Paltz freshman Olivia Badura played the role of Bears shifty guard Dyamon Hunter. Badura's quickness helped the Hawks scout against Hunter, but also showcased what Badura can do on the floor as well. The freshman from Purcellville, VA was on full display Friday, providing a spark off the bench, especially in a pivotal third quarter run that facilitated what ended in a 74-42 rout for SUNY New Paltz over visiting Potsdam.

"The thing with Olivia, she is so quick and so tough to keep in front. She does it on a daily basis in practice. We had her playing the role of Dyamon Hunter the past couple days and she is hard to keep in front. Even though we were doing a pretty good job, as you saw tonight, making it hard on her, Olivia is still getting to the basket," said Hawks coach Jamie Seward. "Tonight, I think we finally got the ball in her hands a little bit more and she played very aggressively. I liked the way with how the numbers played out for her, getting three offensive rebounds. She was playing really hard and she was really active in the game and had a significant impact in the third quarter there."
 

A slow start offensively for both teams, SUNY New Paltz slowly built a double-digit cushion as the quarter wore on with Maddie Van Pelt pushing the Hawks ahead, 16-6 with about a minute left in the period. The Bears kept the game close in the second half with the hosts struggling to find the bottom of the hoop.

Caroline LaFountain got Potsdam within three two minutes into the second quarter, but SUNY New Paltz responded with a 10-0 run led by Philesha Teape and Van Pelt. Teape started the rally with a made bucket from the perimeter. Van Pelt pushed the lead after grabbing her own rebound off a missed 3-pointer, getting the and-one after the made basket. Van Pelt missed the ensuing free throw, but Teape picked up the offensive board and was fouled on the play to also earn a trip to the line. After sinking both, she extended the advantage, 26-13.

However, despite the Hawks establishing a steady cushion and forcing the Bears into 17 first-half turnovers, they didn't break the game open just yet. Potsdam worked its way back in the final four minutes to get within five at the break.

"We forced a ton of turnovers in the first half. We just didn't convert on any of them. I think for about 16, 17 minutes in the first half we played really well," Seward said. "We just didn't make shots and finish around the basket, but then we let up and should have carried a double-digit lead into the half despite shooting as poorly as we were. We let up a little bit. After giving up just a couple [baskets] for a whole quarter in the first half we gave up three in a couple minutes. That was probably a let down from the offense not keeping us in a bigger lead than we probably should have with the way we were playing." 
Coming out of the halftime break, the Hawks put an emphasis on playing more aggressive on the defensive side of the ball and going harder on the glass. They got back to pressuring the Bears early, starting the second half in a full court press and immediately forced three turnovers in the opening minutes.

After a media timeout midway through the quarter, SUNY New Paltz proceeded on a 12-0 run to blow the game open. Badura was a catalyst during the stretch when she subbed in a minute later providing three rebounds, two on the offensive end, four points and forcing a turnover with her tight one-on-one defending against Hunter.

"She definitely had a big role in that run in the second half, which allowed us to open in up," Seward said. "I just thought she was very aggressive. She was aggressive in all phases. She was catching, shooting open shots. She knocked a couple of them down. She got to the basket and created a couple fouls, created a couple turnovers and like I said, she got a couple offensive rebounds on top of it. She was just very active and that activity level is usually rewarded. If you're playing hard and if you're involved and engaged in what is going on, you end up being in the right spot to make some plays and that is where she was tonight a lot."

Following the unanswered stretch, the Hawks went into the fourth boasting a 19-point cushion and they held on comfortably from there. SUNY New Paltz's bench saw extra minutes and did well extending the lead further in the fourth. Badura and fellow freshman Cassidy Deaver each knocked down shots to get their team a 20-point lead midway through the period. SUNY New Paltz made 7-of-8 in the final five minutes to help maintain control with freshman Lexi Van Vorst draining a 3 in the final half minute to establish the Hawks' largest advantage at 33.

"I think this is a big win, because it is our first SUNYAC win," Badura said after the game. "And I personally as a freshman coming in, it's really exciting to come into a program like this and I want to be able to build off of that my next four years to keep the reputation that New Paltz has. So this was just an exciting win for us."

Marion Dietz paced SUNY New Paltz offensively with a team-high 16 points, while adding four rebounds and two steals. Teape was, for the second-straight game, a rebound shy of a double-double, adding 10 points, while pulling down nine boards. Badura finished with 10 points in 16 minutes off the bench, making 3-for-9 from the floor, while adding five rebounds, an assist and a block in her best game as a Hawk thus far.


"It felt really good," Badura said. "The whole week coach, the biggest thing with me, he was just like when I put you in I want you to be aggressive. Go to the basket and be aggressive on defense, so that was the No. 1 thing in my head. I'm just going to attack, attack, attack, so I was just going out there and that was the mindset. I'm not going to let anyone stop me."

The Hawks held the Bears without a scorer in double-figure points with Bella Barner totaling a team-high nine points off the bench. Hunter finished with seven points and 11 turnovers. SUNY New Paltz ultimately forced 31 Potsdam turnovers and kept the visitors to just 26 percent from the field.

"We were just honestly trying to defend the way we could with those kids, because they have a couple kids that are really talented," Seward said. "We just tried to show them a lot of bodies and put them in some tough spots to play in tight spaces and make decisions quickly. I think we forced some turnovers early and I think it maybe got to them a little bit and they were looking over their shoulders a little bit for what we were doing. We were changing defenses quite a bit and that might have weighed on them and maybe think a little bit more than they wanted to."

The Hawks will try to stay perfect on the weekend when they face Plattsburgh State Saturday in the Hawk Center for a 2 p.m. tip. The Cardinals also earned a win Friday night, going on the road and defeating SUNY Oneonta, 62-56.

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