FIGHTING TIGER WOMEN TURN BACK ERIE COMMUNITY COLLEGE 40-37
The SUNY Cobleskill women’s basketball team turned back a determined Erie Community College squad on Saturday in the friendly confines of the Iorio Gymnasium outlasting the Lady Kats in a low scoring 40-37 affair. The victory improves the Fighting Tigers overall record to 12-3 in the season and drops the visitors from Buffalo, NY to 5-13 on the year. Cobleskill is currently ranked eighteenth in the latest NJCAA Division III National Poll.
After leading 24-17 at the half the Fighting Tigers fell behind midway through the second half finally regaining the lead for good when senior guard Erinn O’Rourke, South Glens Falls, NY, South Glens Falls High School, nailed a three-point field goal with 57.8 seconds remaining as the shot clock expired to give Cobleskill a 38-37 lead. After rebounding a missed Erie lay-up attempt and a series of Lady Kat fouls to establish a one-and-one free throw situation; senior Cobleskill forward Kim Stahl, Scotia, NY, Scotia-Glenville High School, calmly sank two shots from the charity stripe to extent the lead to 40-37. The visitors could not convert on their subsequent possession committing a turnover with two second left to play giving the Fighting Tigers the win.
“Clearly defense saved us today even though I’m not sure we played a great defensive game we held them to only 37 points on a day when our offense never got going,” said Fighting Tiger Head Coach Josh Suttles. “From day one, we spend a good deal of time working defensively and games like today are the reason. There are going to be times during the season when your offense does not show up and your defense must give you a chance to win. Offensively we came out extremely complacent; no one was cutting, we were just standing around and we played with a total lack of aggressiveness. Certainly some of the credit for this is due to the Erie defense but most of it was due to our play.”
Freshman center/forward April Ackermann, South Huntington, NY, Sullivan West High School, scored nine points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Fighting Tigers while Kim Stahl and senior guard Meghan Smida, Cobleskill, NY, Cobleskill-Richmondville High School, each had eight points in the contest. Erinn O’Rourke tallied six points to go with four assists and senior center Kim McMillen, Greenville, NY, Greenville High School, scored five points to go with 10 rebounds on the afternoon.
The Fighting Tigers will next take to the road on Tuesday January 23rd when they travel to Utica, NY to meet the nation’s number two ranked team the Hawks of Mohawk Valley Community College who are currently 15-0 on the season. The Hawks and Fighting Tigers are currently tied for first place in the Mountain Valley Conference standings.
