Women’s basketball team opens season with 77-70 win over SUNY-Cobleskill

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Olivet College women's basketball team defeated State University of New York at Cobleskill, 77-70, in its season-opener tonight at the first game of the Hunter College Tip-Off Tournament and inside the Hunter Sportsplex in New York.

THE BASICS
Final Score: Olivet 77, SUNY-Cobleskill 70
Location: Hunter Sportsplex; New York, N.Y.
Records: SUNY-Cobleskill  0-2 overall, Olivet 1-0 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Early in the game, neither team led by more than two points. The Comets took the largest lead for either team, 14-9, at the 4:23 mark. The Fighting Tigers fought back to even the score at 14-14 and eventually took a three-point lead, 21-18. Olivet scored the final four points of the quarter to lead 22-21 at the end of one quarter of play.
• In the second quarter, the Comets stretched their lead to as many as eight points on two occasions, with the last time being 41-33 after freshman Grace Clark made a three-pointer. Cobleskill put the final five points on the scoreboard in the second quarter to trail by only three, 41-38, at the intermission.
• In the third quarter, Olivet gained a double digit advantage for the first time, 49-38, after junior Shannon Dingman drained back-to-back three-pointers. A layup by senior Kadesha Taylor put the Comets ahead by 13 points, 51-38, for their largest lead of the game at the 6:56 mark. The Tigers clawed their way back into the game and took a three-point lead, 61-58, to start the final quarter of play.
• Olivet scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter to take a 66-61 lead. Cobleskill chipped away at its deficit and tied the game at 70-70 with just under two minutes remaining. The Comets netted the final seven points, including an old-fashioned three-point play by Myers with 28 seconds remaining.

FOR THE COMETS

• Olivet shot 37.9 percent (25-of-66) from the floor compared to 34.4 percent (21-of-61) for the Tigers. The Comets made one shot from behind the arc, while Cobleskill drained two more free throws.
• Clark and freshman Bridget Garter had solid debuts in a Comet uniform, sharing team-high honors with 14 points apiece.
• Dingman and Taylor each scored 13. Dingman shot 4-of-6 from the three-point line, while Taylor was a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line.
• Clark also posted team-highs in rebounds (six), assists (three) and steals (five).

FOR THE FIGHTING TIGERS

• Addy Lawson led all scorers with 23 points.
• Shailyah Graham contributed 12 points.
• Gabby Muraczewski grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, including eight off the offensive glass.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• With the victory, Olivet won its season-opener for the first time since the opening game of the 2013-14 season.
• Today's game was the first in school history against SUNY-Cobleskill and only the fourth time Olivet has played a school from the state of New York. The last time the Comets played a school from New York was on Jan. 4, 2003, when they lost 75-73 to St. Lawrence (N.Y.) University. The other previous games against New York opponents were season-opening games at the Buffalo State University Tournament to start the 1994-95 and 1999-2000 seasons.

UP NEXT

• Olivet faces either the host Hawks in the championship game tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. Hunter easily dispatched Bay Path (Mass.) University, 66-34, in the other first-round game.