NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The top-seeded State University of New York at New Paltz women’s basketball team (24-3) secured its first-ever State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) title by defeating No. 2 SUNY Geneseo (20-7) in the SUNYAC Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament final on Saturday, 64-53, on its home court at the Hawk Center.
 
In winning the SUNYAC title for the first time, the Hawks receive the SUNYAC’s automatic qualifier into the 2013 NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament. This will be the Hawks’ first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Senior guard Maliqua Fisher (North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon) earned the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award after recording a double-double in the championship game with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Earning spots on the All-Tournament team were senior forward Alex McCullough (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) and freshman forward Michelle Valle (New York, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Science/Mathematics). Rounding out the All-Tournament team were Geneseo’s Melissa Graham and Allison McKenna, and SUNY Plattsburgh’s Kathleen Payne.
 
The Hawks never trailed from the opening tip to the final buzzer in Saturday’s championship win. McCullough scored the first four points of the game before Geneseo made its first basket. Valle’s jumper with 4:19 left in the first half gave the Hawks their biggest lead of the game at 14 points, but the Blue Knights battled back to cut the deficit to seven before the intermission.
 
McCullough opened the second stanza with a three, which was then followed by a good jumper by freshman guard Shannan Walker (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) to extend the lead to 12. Geneseo fought back again, getting within four after a Nyisha Lewis free throw, but a 9-0 New Paltz run put the score at 43-30 with 11:01 on the clock. The Blue Knights did not go away, as an Allison McKenna jumper at 6:58 cut the Hawk advantage to just three points. The Hawks turned up the defensive effort and did not let the Blue Knights get any closer, eventually stretching the lead to 11 before the buzzer went off and the crowd stormed the court in celebration.
 
McCullough led the Hawks with 14 points in Saturday’s win, while Valle netted 11 and pulled down eight rebounds. Junior guard Alyssa Gratien (Syracuse, N.Y./Jamesville-DeWitt) picked up 10 points, while junior forward Jeanette Scott had a career-high six steals.
 
Graham led Geneseo with 14 points on Saturday, completing the double-double with 10 boards, while McKenna followed with 11 points to earn themselves spots on the All-Tournament team.
 
The Hawks forced 27 Geneseo turnovers, while only committing 12 in the win. This was a big difference maker in the game, as the Hawks scored 21 points off turnovers to just nine for the Blue Knights.
 
The NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Selection Show will air at 2:30 p.m. on NCAA.com. New Paltz will see and hear its name called for the time, while the Hawks’ first round destination and opponent will both be revealed during the show.