FIGHTING TIGER WOMEN SCUTTLE HVCC VIKINGS 62-50 IN MVCC PLAY

The SUNY Cobleskill women’s basketball team bounced back from a 72-46 loss to Broome Community College on Tuesday night to sink the visiting Vikings of Hudson Valley Community College by a 62-50 margin in Mountain Valley Conference action at the Iorio Gymnasium last night. The victory improves the Fighting Tiger overall record to 6-3 on the season with a perfect 2-0 mark in conference play.

After a hard fought first half, which saw Cobleskill hold a 29-28 advantage, the Fighting Tigers systematically dismantled the Viking defense and slowly stifled the HVCC offensive attack by controlling the paint on both ends of the court. At one point the orange and black expanded the lead to 19 points at 57-38 based in large part to control of the back boards and unselfish team play.

Senior power forward Kim McMillen, Greenville, NY, Greenville High School, once again was the major weapon in the Fighting Tiger arsenal tossing in 21 points and grabbing 13 rebounds to go with three steals on the evening. Freshman center April Ackermann, South Huntington, NY, Sullivan West High School, added 11 points and five rebounds while senior guard/forward Kim Stahl, Scotia, NY, Scotia-Glenville High School, scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds in the victory.

Cobleskill also received solid play from senior guard Erinn O’Rourke, South Glens Falls, NY, South Glens Falls High School, with seven points and four assists, senior point guard Meghan Smida, Cobleskill, NY, Cobleskill-Richmondville High School, with eight points and from freshman center Abby Wilcox, Cobleskill, NY, Cobleskill-Richmondville High School, who chipped in five points to go with six rebounds on the night.

“I though that we came out with a better mindset tonight than we did on Tuesday,” said Fighting Tiger Head Coach Josh Suttles. “After Tuesday I think that we lacked individual confidence and we worked extremely hard on Wednesday in practice to prepare for tonight. Our shooting isn’t quite where we need it to be but we are getting back to playing Cobleskill defense and to hold them to 50 points was a very good effort. We had a good inside presence with Kim McMillen, April Ackermann and Abby Wilcox tonight scoring inside and rebounding. I also thought that Erinn O’Rourke did an excellent job of running the offense tonight and that we dictated the tempo of the game all evening by doing a great job of sharing the basketball.”

The Fighting Tigers will return to the road on Saturday December 2nd when they travel to Plattsburgh, NY to meet the Cougars of Clinton Community College for a 1:00 PM contest.