PSU women look to move up in seeding

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Plattsburgh State's Kathleen Payne (23) is eight points shy of the single-season scoring mark for the women's basketball team. The Cardinals host New Paltz in their final regular-season home game. P-R Photo / Rob Fountain

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February 14, 2012

TIM PULSIFER Press-Republican The Press Republican Tue Feb 14, 2012, 02:23 AM EST

PLATTSBURGH — There's still plenty to play for as Plattsburgh State women's basketball team hosts New Paltz tonight at Memorial Hall.

The Cardinals (6-9, 9-12) clinched a spot in the upcoming SUNY Athletic Conference playoffs with a hard-fought 64-56 win at Potsdam this past Friday but still have an opportunity to move up in the conference seedings with a strong finish.

Plattsburgh is currently tied with both Oswego and Fredonia for fifth place in the conference standings heading into the final full week of regular-season play.

"Getting to the playoffs was our first goal this year, and now that we've done that it would be nice to see what we can do as far as improving our overall seeding," Plattsburgh coach Cheryl Cole said. "With the games we have left, we could realistically move up to the fifth spot. We really have our fate in our own hands."

The Cardinals, who lost to the Hawks, 75-61, back on Dec. 6, have every reason to believe that they could put together a much stronger effort this time around.

Plattsburgh has played every opponent tough of late, particularly at home, and are currently on a two-game winning streak. After tonight's contest, the Cardinals will wrap up their regular season at Brockport Friday night and Geneseo on Saturday. The SUNYAC tournament will get under way a week from today.

With a playoff spot clinched, prepping for the playoffs and finishing strong are now the top priorities for Plattsburgh and that starts tonight against a very good squad from New Paltz (15-8, 13-3), one that is currently in the midst of a six-game winning streak.

"Last time, they were bigger and more aggressive and just killed us on the boards," Cole said. "Rebounding was probably the biggest factor last time. They scored a lot of points on second and third shots, and we just can't let that happen again. We also turned the ball over 27 times again and weren't as composed as we might have been against their press.

"That is also something we've worked a lot on since we saw them the last time, and hopefully we've cleaned up. Overall though, I think, we just need to work hard and improve on our focus. If we do that, we should be alright."

Another point of interest tonight is more of an individual accomplishment as sophomore standout Kathleen Payne continues her quest for the SUNYAC scoring title as well as a place in the Plattsburgh State record book.

Payne currently leads Fredonia's Becky Hebert by less than a point for top scoring honors (points per game) in the conference and is also just eight points shy of the Cardinals single season scoring mark set by Donna Dixon back in 1987-88.

Tonight's game will be a "Play 4Kay" benefit dedicated to long-time North Carolina State women's head coach Kay Yow.

Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m.