PLATTSBURGH — For the second time in less than a month, the Plattsburgh State women's basketball team gave conference-leading Buffalo State all it could could handle.
But it was once again just not quite enough for the Cardinals, as they fell to the Bengals, 65-58, Friday at Memorial Hall.
"We were right there, that's twice now where we played very well and just came up a little short," said Plattsburgh head coach Cheryl Cole. "We played hard and gave a great effort out but there were just a few things we didn't do well tonight and against a good team like Buffalo you just can't afford to do that and still expect to win."
The Bengals also beat the Cardinals by seven on Jan. 21.
Plattsburgh will look for a weekend split when it plays host to Fredonia in yet another key conference matchup this afternoon.
The Cardinals (7-12, 4-9 SUNYAC) played with energy and purpose Friday but went through a few stretches where they couldn't buy a basket, and that ultimately cost them the game.
The Cardinals didn't score their initial field goal until almost four minutes into the game, but they managed to stay within a point, 26-27, by the half despite connecting on just 10-of-30 shots from the field over the first 20 minutes of play.
"We missed a lot of chippies tonight. I think we were at times surprised to be in position to make shots more or less uncontested and just couldn't finish," said Cole. "Our offensive execution was very good, we got the looks and shots we wanted. We just couldn't seem to finish.
"In a close game like this, you just have to make those shots, and that was the difference in the game."
Very little separated the two teams throughout the contest, with the Bengals (17-2, 10-2) boasting their largest advantage, 53-42, with approximately six minutes left in regulation.
Plattsburgh refused to go away, however. Sparked by the perimeter play of point guard Brittany Marshall, the Cardinals went on a quick 6-0 run to cut the deficit to just five points with still five-plus minutes to play.
But that was as close as things got, as the two teams traded baskets, forcing the Cardinals to send the Bengals to the line as the clock wound down.
The Bengals connected on just 22 of their 64 field goal attempts for the game, but they made 17-of-21 shots from the line, including several in the final minute.
"We played good pressure defense, but they're a very good team — in my opinion, the best in our conference," Cole said. "We just put ourselves in a bad position where we had to foul down the stretch and then hope they would miss, and against a team like Buffalo, that just isn't going to happen."
Despite the overall outcome, there were some positives for the Cardinals.
Kathleen Payne, who had been struggling with her offense, returned to form in a major way.
The sophomore netted a game-high 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting and also had 11 rebounds and five steals in a stellar all-around performance.
Marshall also came up with huge individual effort for Plattsburgh.
The freshman guard was 4-for-5 from three-point range and had 15 of her 17 points in the second half to spark the Cardinals.
Buffalo State's Kala Crawford tossed in a team-high 13 points, and Staci McElroy and Bianca Smiley added another 12 apiece. Barb Kiliszek had 11, and Divine Sebuharara chipped in 10 to pace an extremely balanced offensive attack.
Buffalo State 65
Plattsburgh State 58
Buffalo State (65)
Kollar 0-0-0, Bell 0-0-0, Kiliszek 3-4-11, Sebuharara 3-4-10, Luciani 0-0-0, Crawford 5-0-13, McElroy 5-2-12, Wallace 0-3-3, Smiley 4-4-12. Totals: 22-17-65.
Plattsburgh State (58)
Marshall 6-1-17, Halstead 0-0-0, Larivee 1-0-3, Reifinger 1-2-4, Salisbury 1-0-3, Hart 1-1-3, Payne 8-5-23, Cassidy 1-1-3, Nucaro 1-0-2, Lewis 0-0-0. Totals: 20-10-58.
3-point goals: Buffalo State (4) Crawford 3, Kiliszek. Plattsburgh State (8) Marshall 4, Payne 2, Larivee, Salisbury.
Halftime: Buffalo State, 27-26.
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