UTICA, N.Y. - The SUNY Poly women's basketball team beat SUNY Canton 69-54 on Friday night. It was the first conference game of the season for the Wildcats. With the win, the Wildcats move to 3-3 on the season and 1-0 in North Atlantic Conference play. Molly Burdick led the way for the Wildcats, recording a season-high 26 points with eight rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED: Molly Burdick would get the scoring going for the Wildcats in the first quarter on an assist from Lyrik Jackson. A three-pointer from Joie Culkin would tie the game at 3-3 before a Molly Burdick layup would put the Wildcats ahead 5-3. The Wildcats would never look back from there, leading the entire game. Lauren Denny would add a three-pointer early to extend the Wildcats' lead. SUNY Canton would cut the lead to five with 2:11 left in the first quarter, before an 8-0 run highlighted by a Kelsey Meca three-pointer would give the Wildcats a 23-10 lead going into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, the Wildcats would continue their high-paced scoring and strong defense, taking a 37-17 lead going into halftime. Burdick would have 10 of her 26 points in the second quarter. Kierra Conner and Lyrik Jackson would add second-quarter points to round out the scoring for the Wildcats.
Hope Aniceto would have a big third quarter for the Kangaroos, hitting two three-pointers right away and adding two foul shots to give her eight points in the first three minutes of the quarter. She would end with a game-high 14 points for the Kangaroos. The Wildcats would do a nice job minimizing the damage, however, to maintain a 50-37 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Lyrik Jackson and Lauren Denny would score in the first minute of the fourth quarter for the Wildcats to extend their lead to 54-37. The two teams would exchange blows in the fourth quarter with the Wildcats eventually securing the 69-54 victory.
NOTABLE STATISTICS:
- Kierra Connor would record a double-double for the Wildcats, recording 12 points and 10 rebounds.
- Hope Aniceto would lead the Kangaroos with 14 points on 4-10 shooting from three-point range.
- Lauren Denny led all players with five assists.
- The Wildcats would win a few major statistical categories in route to the win, including rebounds, field goal percentage, assists, and turnovers.
UP NEXT: The Wildcats will be back at home on Saturday, December 3rd against NVU-Johnson. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 1:00 PM. The Wildcats are continuing their Annual Canned Food Drive. If you are attending the game, please consider bringing canned items to donate!