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January 17, 2012

Cards set for non-conference test against Sage

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MATTHEW HAMILTON Press-Republican

PLATTSBURGH — A streaky team that has already rifled off a three-game winning streak this season, the Plattsburgh State women's basketball team is looking to get hot again.

The Cardinals (5-6) enter today's game against Sage College (6-8) having rolled past Potsdam Saturday to pick up their third conference victory this season.

But as a weekend SUNYAC showdown out west with Buffalo State and Fredonia nears, starting another streak isn't the only thing the team will be thinking about. For Plattsburgh State coach Cheryl Cole, having a chance to fine tune her team's game is a welcome opportunity.

"It's important for us to go out and win, and be better than we were on Saturday," Cole said. "We'll work on a couple things we definitely will need this weekend when we are back in SUNYAC play. Bottom line is we need to keep the momentum going."

Following Saturday's 68-54 victory over the Bears, Cole was pleased with her team's play but said the Cards needed to work more on their half-court offense, especially. She said PSU worked heavily on that aspect of its game in practice Monday and an improvement in the half court combined with the speed the team showed Saturday could be key to picking up a victory today.

The Gators come in off a 62-46 loss to Farmingdale State College Saturday, their sixth road loss of the season.

"I think they're pretty balanced," Cole said. "They'll be a good test for us."

Early on, the Gators have not contended in the Skyline Conference, currently sitting sixth in the standings. The one statistic Sage has led in this season is free-throw shooting percentage. The team leads its conference with a .741 percentage, 82 points better than second ranked Mount Saint Mary.

Cole said the Gators like to attack the basket in order to get to the free-throw line, so she harped on the Cards playing defense with their feet rather than their reach.

Other than that knowledge, Cole said she does not know much about the Gators. What information there is about the team, shows that the two teams aren't symmetrical or polar opposites. No player averages more than 9.5 points per game, and the Gator defense ranks near the bottom for the Skyline Conference in almost every category.

"I'm sure it will be an intense battle," she said. "This is the first time we've played each other. It'll be intriguing."

The game also marks the return of former local standouts Kara Hackett and Megan Bowman. Both have helped lead the way for the Gators this season with Bowman, from Saranac, ranked second on the team in points per game (8.9) and Hackett, from Peru, third (7.5).

Bowman is also the steals leader on the team (33), with Hackett leading the way in assists (31). Cole said part of the gameplan is to try to limit both Bowman and Hackett to make other players step up to make plays.

And as far as a potentially larger than normal road-team cheering contingent goes, Cole said she isn't worried about Bowman and Hackett fans making a difference.

"It's still our home court, still our rim, still our floor," she said. "Bottom line is it's our place."

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