FIGHTING TIGER WOMEN COMEBACK TO BEAT CLINTON CC 61-56

After an extended series of road games the SUNY Cobleskill women’s basketball team returned home on Saturday to take on Clinton Community College for what many expected to be a tune-up for Thursday night’s contest versus nationally ranked Fulton-Montgomery Community College. But after falling behind 35-19 at halftime the game took on a different dimension and forced the Fighting Tigers into scramble mode which lead to one of the biggest comebacks in recent history as Cobleskill clawed its way back to win by a 61-56 margin. With the victory the Fighting Tigers move to 10-1 on the season and are currently ranked second in the latest Region III Division III Coach’s Poll.

“The first half was bad all the way around no question. Everyone we played seemed to get progressively worse as the half went on and no question this was the worst half of basketball we’ve played during my time here,” said Fighting Tiger Head Coach Josh Suttles. “It was a collective effort to get us into this situation and it was certainly a collective effort to get us out of the predicament that we created. The second half we played twenty minutes of excellent defense which is the reason we won and the type of effort we must put out every time we take the court. It’s always nice to win but you can not expect to beat the better teams in our region with an effort like this.”

Senior NJCAA All-American forward Dee Dee Smith, Monticello, NY, Redemption Christian Academy, carried the scoring load for the Fighting Tigers with 19 points to go with seven rebounds and five steals. Freshman point guard Tanisha McClinton, Poughkeepsie, NY, Poughkeepsie High School, added 14 points including a pair of critical three point field goals late in the contest. Senior center Crystal Ferrer, Bronx, NY, Redemption Christian Academy, chipped in nine points and grabbed nine rebounds in the contest for the Fighting Tigers.

Fighting Tiger freshman forward Kim Stahl, Scotia, NY, Scotia-Glenville High School, scored seven points in the game’s last two minutes to clinch the victory while freshman guard Erinn O’Rourke, South Glens Falls, NY, South Glens High School, chipped in eight points in the victory.

The Fighting Tigers will next host Mountain Valley Conference rival Fulton-Montgomery Community College on Thursday December 8th beginning at 7:00 PM. The Raiders are currently ranked fourth in the current NJCAA Division III National Poll.

TIGER NOTES: The Fighting Tigers clinched the victory at the free throw line converting on 16 of 23 attempts from the line with freshman Kim Stahl converting on four consecutive attempts in the last minute of play to ice the victory. The Fighting Tigers are currently working on a three game winning streak and are unbeaten at home with a 3-0 record to date.