Geneseo women’s basketball season comes to end in SUNYAC semifinals
The Geneseo women’s basketball team was unable to emerge victorious against New Paltz on Friday, Feb. 24 in the SUNYAC semifinals. Advancing upon their first-round victory over Brockport, the Knights traveled downstate to face the top-seeded New Paltz Hawks. This game marked their third competition of the year. In the teams’ regular season series, the Hawks swept the Knights, defeating them in both games. In their first matchup on Jan. 14, Geneseo was outplayed by New Paltz, losing 64-46. The Knights then traveled to New Paltz on Feb. 10 and were trounced by the Hawks, losing 67-37.
Entering Friday’s game as the fourth-ranked team, Geneseo was a significant underdog but remained optimistic they could win and punch their ticket to this year’s SUNYAC Championship. To start the game, the Hawks immediately came out of the gates fast, putting up an aggressive 10-0 run in the opening minutes. Junior forward Kerry Dennin was able to get the scoring started for the Knights along with freshman guard Maggie McGrane and junior guard Kelly McLaughlin, who contributed some early baskets for the team.
Following the strong start from the Hawks, Geneseo was able to hang tough and stay in the game thanks in part to made free throws from junior Kiley Snow. Strong defensive rebounding from senior forward Lauren Romito helped provide the team with scoring opportunities throughout. The Knights were able to rally late in the second quarter, trailing by only nine going into the second half.
Similar to the first quarter, New Paltz came out firing after the break, scoring 24 points in the period and holding the Knights to only 16. In the final ten minutes of play, the Knights defense was able to hang tough, only allowing a total of 13 points in the stretch. Unfortunately, the Geneseo offense faltered and could not chip away at the deficit.
New Paltz was able to defeat Geneseo with a final score of 76-59 at the end of regulation. Dennin led the Knights in scoring with 19 points in the contest, with McLaughlin adding another eight and Snow, Romito, and McCrane each contributing seven. Romito also recorded a team-high 16 rebounds and two blocks. The Knights finished the season with an overall record of 19-8, an improvement upon last season’s 17-10 record.
Next year will be intriguing for the Knights, as they will be losing multiple significant players from their rotation. Romito, who led the team in points per game and blocks, will be graduating after a great career. Senior guard Taylor Hansen, who led the team in assists per game and who was the team’s starting point guard, will also be graduating with fellow seniors forward Madison Hoyt and guard Hannah Stockman. Congratulations to these Knights on their illustrious careers as devoted members of the team. Geneseo will look to improve on their 19-8 record next season, and hopefully bring the SUNYAC title back home.
The Hawks of New Paltz advanced to the finals where they faced SUNY Cortland on their home court. Cortland emerged victorious, narrowly defeating New Paltz by a score of 57-52, declaring Cortland the 2022-2023 SUNYAC Champions.