Devils conquer North Country
The Fredonia women's basketball team made it a clean sweep of the North Country this season after defeating Plattsburgh in a nail-biting contest, 70-64, on Jan. 31. The Devils posted wins in all four games against SUNYAC foes Plattsburgh and Potsdam this season and improved to 5-7 in conference play and 8-10 overall.
The team had several outstanding performances led by sophomore Alexis Cheatham's 20 points. Cheatham (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport) was eight for eight from the line and four of nine from long range. Junior Sabrina Macaulay (Newark, N.Y. / Newark) turned in her second double-double in as many days with 10 points and 10 rebounds to go along with a pair of blocked shots.
Freshman Jacque Law (Machias, N.Y./Pioneer) continued her solid play as the "sixth woman" with an 18-point effort off the bench. She was six of six from the line and two for five from beyond the arc. Sophomore Kathryn Halloran (Angola, N.Y./Immaculata) had 10 points and eight boards, as well as a key steal late in the game.
The first half was relatively tight, with neither team holding a lead any larger than seven at any point. Fredonia had a 29-24 lead at the break.
Fredonia would keep the lead the entire second half, but the game was never out of reach for the Cardinals. Fredonia's biggest lead through the first 14-plus minutes of the second half was never more than six. At one point, Plattsburgh had its deficit down to two points, 44-42, at the 10:12 mark following a layup by Allie Taylor.
Fredonia nursed a three-point lead, 50-47, with 6:21 left to play. At that point, Fredonia scored on four-straight possessions during a 10-0 run. Cheatham hit three pointers on back-to-back possessions. Halloran then converted a layup before Cheatham capped the run with a pair of free-throws to make it a 60-47 game with four minutes to play.
Plattsburgh had one last run in them before time ran out. With eight seconds left on the clock, Plattsburgh's Brittany Marshall made a layup and was fouled in the act. She converted the free throw for a three-point play to make it a 66-64 game.
However, Fredonia was able to slam the door when Cheatham and Marissa Cussins (Corning, N.Y./Corning) converted all four free-throw opportunities in the final seconds. Halloran had her key steal between the Cheatham and Cussin's free throws.
The Devils shot on 32 percent from the field (21 of 66), but made up for it going 22 of 23 from the free-throw line. Plattsburgh shot 46 percent from the field, but the Devils were able to offset that by controlling the boards 45-32. Fredonia outrebounded the Cardinals 19-6 in offensive rebounds.
Plattsburgh falls to 6-5 in conference play and 9-9 overall. Taylor had 19 points and Devona Paul added 18.
The Devils play host to Cortland and Oswego next weekend.
