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January 6, 2009

Panthers escape with win

By COURTNEY LEWIS

PLATTSBURGH — Plattsburgh State climbed back from a 12-point second-half deficit Tuesday and had the pressure on Middlebury. But the Cardinals couldn't get it done in the last four minutes.

Middlebury made some clutch free throws and picked up a 63-56 nonconference win at Memorial Hall.

The Cardinals (4-6) were flat in the first half and behind much of the second but pulled ahead with less than five minutes left.

"We battled all the way back from double digits, took a 3-point lead a couple times. Had them where we wanted them, had them on their heels, had them frustrated and yelling at each other on the floor to a point where, this is our game to finish," Plattsburgh State coach Cheryl Cole said. "We're hitting on all cylinders and we've got all five people playing at the intensity that we want. And then when it comes down to crunch time, we had three turnovers and we missed a shot at the end."

Emily Johnson scored 19 to lead Middlebury (5-5).

Taylor Amarando and Erin Silberberg helped spur Plattsburgh State to a strong second half. Amarando scored 12 in the second and finished with a team-high 16 points. Silberberg totaled 10 points, including eight after halftime.

The Cardinals trailed by 12 early in the second and then started chipping away at the Panthers' lead. Amarando hit a pair of foul shots with 4:39 left to give Plattsburgh State a 52-51 edge, and after a defensive stop, Kerri Salisbury found Silberberg for a fast-break layup.

The Cardinals were ahead 56-53 with just under three minutes to go when Johnson drilled a 3-pointer. Plattsburgh State missed a couple shots down low and, Middlebury gained the lead with two free throws from Kaitlyn Fallon.

Plattsburgh State's Shoshana Harris drove the lane with about 40 seconds left, but the ball rolled all the way around the rim and dropped off.

The Cardinals coughed up the ball a couple times in the final 30 seconds, and the Panthers went 4-for-6 from the line.

"You gotta finish the deal," Cole said. "You work that hard to get yourself there. You've got everything going for you; you've cracked the other team. And then you give it away."

Fallon finished with 14 points and seven rebounds for Middlebury, and Lauren Sanchez grabbed 10 boards.

Johnson was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field in the first half, including three triples. Middlebury went up at 15:44 of the first and led by 10 with 4:08 left.

Back-to-back buckets by Amarando and Harris and a Molly Harte free throw cut it to 29-24 before Johnson drained a late 3-pointer.

Plattsburgh State's three forwards had a combined seven points in the first half, and the team shot 32.3 percent from the floor.

"We're best when we're playing high-pressure defense and we're out running," Cole said.

"We were settling for jump shots. We need to work the ball inside-out. We need more touches for our post. We really talked about that at halftime — getting it inside and penetrating. I thought we did a much better job in the second half."

Salisbury finished with 14 points, and Harris had 11. Harte chipped in 10 rebounds.

The Cardinals return to SUNY Athletic Conference play this weekend, traveling to Fredonia and Buffalo State.

"We just showed that we can be two different teams, and we need to be that one team for an entire game," Cole said. "I think we need to play off of how we played in the second half. That's how we need to start the game when we get on the road Friday."

Middlebury 63, Plattsburgh State 56

Middlebury (63)

Needham 1-3-5, Fallon 5-4-14, Johnson 6-3-19, Barron 1-1-3, Sanchez 2-1-5, Vara 2-2-6, Perfetti 2-0-6, Wells 0-0-0, Goeke 0-0-0, Wall 2-1-5. Totals: 21-15-63. Plattsburgh State (56)

Amarando 6-4-16, Arthurton 1-0-2, Lynch 0-0-0, Salisbury 6-0-14, Harris 5-0-11, Silver 0-0-0, Harte 0-1-1, Silberberg 4-2-10, McCoy 1-0-2. Totals: 23-7-56.

3-point goals: Middlebury (6), Johnson 4, Perfetti 2. Plattsburgh State (3), Salisbury 2, Harris.

Halftime: Middlebury 32-24.

E-mail Courtney Lewis at: clewis@pressrepublican.com

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