Wildcats Beat Morrisville St. 75-54 to Take First in North Division

Wildcats Beat Morrisville St. 75-54 to Take First in North Division

MARCY, N.Y. – The SUNY Poly Women's Basketball Team (7-6, 5-1 NEAC) beat Morrisville State (8-5, 4-2 NEAC) 75-54 on Wednesday night to put themselves on top of the NEAC North Division at 5-1. The Wildcats scored the first points of the game and never looked back in a convincing win led by Molly MacLachlan (Marcellus, N.Y. / Marcellus) with a season-high 23 points.

The Wildcats were catapulted by their 3-point shooting throughout the game. They shot 44% from behind the arc hitting eight 3's in total. Barrie Brooks (Utica, N.Y. / Utica-Proctor) and MacLachlan had four apiece. SUNY Poly dominated the rest of the game leading in every other category; a big difference coming in a 41-33 advantage in rebounds. 

The first half started with the Wildcats exchanging points with the Mustangs, but never losing the lead. At 12:52 SUNY Poly pulled away for good with a jump shot from Erika Charbonneau (Boonville, N.Y. / Adirondack). Brooks ended the first half with a clutch put-back to put the Wildcats up 36-23.

The second half saw the Wildcats in complete control the entire time never leading by less than eight. Geena Gallo (Ballston Spa, N.Y. / Ballston Spa) had a lot to do with that, scoring 11 of her 15 points in the second half. With 8:26 left in the game the Wildcats went on a 10-0 run that saw their lead extend to 64-38.

Gallo and Brooks both had big nights with 15 points apiece and Charbonneau added 12. Emily Alicea (Mohegan Lake, N.Y. / Lakeland) and Paige Gallo (Ballston Spa, N.Y. / Ballston Spa) both added 4 points while Lauren Knowles (Salisbury Mills, N.Y. / Washingtonville) rounded out the scoring with 2 points. While not her biggest night offensively, Knowles did a fantastic job passing out of the high post against the Mustang zone. She finished with 5 assists, trailing only Alicea (6) in the category.

SUNY Poly will host two more home contests this weekend. The first takes place against the College of St. Elizabeth Eagles, and is scheduled for this Saturday at 2:00 pm.