The Morrisville State College women’s basketball team put together a hard fought battle Tuesday afternoon, but dropped the 77-49 North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) decision to visiting SUNYIT in Morrisville.
With the loss, Morrisville State drops to 4-8 overall, 2-3 in conference play, while the visitors improve to 7-4 overall and remain untouched in NEAC action at 4-0.
Jordan Anderson (West Edmeston, N.Y.) led the Mustang efforts with 12 points, dishing out five assists and taking away two, while Jennel Paul (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 11 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Maura Conlon (Marcy, N.Y.) came off the bench and registered 10 points, hitting two from beyond the arc. Caitlyn Adams (Sherburne, N.Y.) paced the Mustangs on the glass, collecting seven rebounds adding three steals and five blocks to her tallies.
Four registered double figures for SUNYIT, including Nijah Townsend (Bronx, N.Y.) who had a team best 19 points. Lauren Knowles (Salisbury Mills, N.Y.) and Abbey Hanehan (Stillwater, N.Y.) each added 12, while Nijee Scott (Bronx, N.Y.) posted 11.
Knowles led the Wildcats on the glass with nine rebounds, as SUNYIT held the 59-33 advantage over the Mustangs on the day.
SUNYIT led by as many as 12 in the opening half, before Morrisville State went on a 7-0 spurt to cut the lead to five with just over four minutes to go in the period. SUNYIT closed out the half with an 8-2 burst of their own, claiming the 34-23 lead at the break.
Morrisville State hit back to back buckets in the opening minutes of the second half, making it a nine point game, but then went cold offensively as SUNYIT kept adding to their lead to collect the win.
The visitors dominated the paint, posting 44 of their points within the box. Morrisville State however, did force 19 Wildcat miscues on the day.
The Mustangs will look to get back on track Saturday, traveling to Penn State Abington.