BROCKPORT, N.Y. – The College at Brockport women's basketball team clinched a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Playoff berth with their 70-63 victory over SUNY New Paltz on Saturday afternoon. The Golden Eagles are now 11-12 on the season (9-7 SUNYAC), while the Hawks fall to 14-9 (10-6).
This is Brockport's first win over New Paltz since 2014 when they downed the Hawks by 15 points.
Lindsay Johnson was honored before the game as the lone senior on the women's basketball team, and went on to make her senior day one that she'll never forget. The Waterloo, N.Y. native led the team with 24 points and 19 rebounds, controlling the game from start to finish.
Johnson scored four of the team's six points early in the first quarter, helping them jump out to an early lead. She added two more buckets late in the quarter as well, and with her eight boards, sat just two rebounds shy of a double-double after just the first quarter. The Hawks got hot from the three point line toward the end of the quarter however, and carried a 14-13 lead into the second.
The Golden Eagle offense got going in the second stanza, once again led by Johnson who scored eight of the teams 17 points in the frame.
Emily Nestler,
Bailey Pratt, and
Zaria McCullough all got things going as well, putting Brockport back on top by seven going into halftime.
Julianna Taylor provided a spark for the Green and Gold in the third quarter, finding her stroke to the tune of seven points in the frame. Brockport led by as many as 15 with 2:33 to go, but a late run from the Hawks closed the gap to eight going into the fourth.
New Paltz once again found their three point shooting stroke in the final frame, led by Rachel Simon who's three-point shooting to within three with 1:56 remaining. Once again however it was Johnson to the rescue, scoring six points in the final minute of play to put the game out of reach, and secure the win for Brockport.
Johnson's 19 boards were a career high for her, and also ranks eighth in the Brockport record books for rebounds in a game. The senior has now brought down 200 boards this season, which ranks second in the SUNYAC conference.
Nestler and Pratt both scored in double-figures as well, while freshman tandem McCullough and Taylor each contributed seven.
The Golden Eagles will look to improve their SUNYAC Playoff positioning next weekend when they close out their regular season with a road trip to Oswego and Cortland.
Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Golden Eagle scores and awards by following @BportAthletics on Twitter and by liking the "Brockport Golden Eagles" Facebook page.
