The Oneonta State women’s basketball teams NCAA run came to a halt tonight as they fell to host King’s College 56-42 in the opening round. This was the Red Dragons first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2001 after winning the SUNYAC championship. Oneonta finishes its season with an overall record of 19-9.
Both teams played a solid defensive game as they have all year long and, in the end, it was Oneonta that came out on the short end, shooting a season low 26 percent from the floor including 2-of-19 from long range.
“The shots just didn’t drop for us tonight, but we were still in the game” said Oneonta coach Daphne Thompson. “We were getting the shots we normally get in our offense. Our defense kept us in the game.”
The senior duo of Samantha Szkotak and Madison Slagle each reached double figures in their final games in a Red Dragon uniform. Slagle was tops with 13 points while Szkotak had 11 points. Both players had eight rebounds each to lead Oneonta.
Oneonta trailed the entire game, but made a run in the second half to cut King’s (23-5) lead to eight points at 39-31 on a Slagle jumper at the 7:07 mark.
“I knew we would make a run,” commented Thompson. “We just didn’t have any luck tonight.”
King’s senior Samantha Simcox quickly got the lead back to double digits when she drained a three less than one minute later. The Red Dragons continued to battle and kept its deficit at eight points on a steal and lay-up by junior Kate Wilverding with 3:09 remaining in the contest.
Any chance at coming all the way back was squelched with just over one minute to go when the Monarchs sealed the deal with a jumper and a steal for a lay-up that put the score at 54-39.
After a couple of scoreless minutes to begin the contest, King’s got on the scoreboard first with a three-pointer from Simcox at 17:59. Her three was followed by a lay-up by junior Katlin Michaels to give the Monarchs an early 5-0 lead.
Sophomore Kelly Mulligan got Oneonta on the board by making 1-of-2 free throws at 16:55. The Red Dragons didn’t convert its first field goal of the half until a steal and lay-up by Alyshia Crawford at the 13:17 that made the score 11-3 in favor of King’s. A lay-up by Grace Schilling and a three-pointer by Samantha Szkotak capped seven unanswered by Oneonta to cut the lead back to 11-8 at the 10:39 mark.
King’s countered with seven straight points to get their lead back to 10 points at 18-8. Michaels capped the run with a jumper just inside the arc. Michaels finished the half with 10 points. King’s went into halftime with a 24-13 lead.
King’s had three players in double figures led by Michaels who had 16 points.
Thompson concluded, “I’m disappointed for the players. They had a tremendous season and they are SUNYAC champions. I enjoyed each player on this team and I want to thank them for their commitment.”
