Devils overpower Houghton in second half, 71-54

Freshman Mackenna Nechwedowich (Berkshire/Newark Valley) had the best game of her young career, going for 19 points and 10 rebounds coming off the bench as the Devils put together a strong second half, downing Houghton, 71-54.

Senior Katie Pitcher (Fulton/Hannibal) added 19 points and nine rebounds. Lauren Mickley (Danville, Ohio/Danville) had 10 points, and Mary Culeton (Oswego/Oswego) added 17 rebounds and six assists.

The Devils trailed by a point at the half before outscoring Houghton by 18 points in the second half.

Houghton was led by Amanda Jackson with 14 points, and Carlee Miller and Alexis Klohr each had 10 points.

The first quarter belonged to Houghton. Both teams connected on six field goals, but Houghton nailed 5-10 three pointers and went 4-4 from the line. Fredonia State did not connect on a three and converted 1-2 free throws.

Houghton led for most of the half. The Devil's only lead came after a Renee Park (Union Springs/Union Springs) jumper made it 12-11 with 2:33 left in the first. Park would finish with seven points and five rebounds.

Houghton held a 21-13 lead after one period of play.

Houghton's biggest lead of the game would come midway through the second quarter. A 5-0 run put them up, 26-15.

From there, the Devils would step up their play and begin to take control of the game. They finished the half outscoring Houghton 16-6, and trailed by a single point at the break, 32-31.

Pitcher led the Devils with 10 points midway through.

Pitcher opened the third quarter with a three-point play to give the Devils their second lead of the game. After a layup by Houghton's Klohr tied the game at 34-all, Pitcher scored on the next possession to give the Devils the lead for good. Nechwedowich scored nine points in the third quarter to push the Devils out to a 48-40 lead.

An 8-2 run to open the third effectively put the game away for the Devils.

After Houghton started off the game 5-10 from three-point range, they connected on only five of their next 23 attempts. Fredonia State took advantage of the misses, accumulating a season-high 59 rebounds.

The Devils improved to 5-1 and the Highlanders fall to 2-3.

The Devils will now begin the SUNYAC portion of their schedule with a Nov. 30 game at Brockport.