FIGHTING TIGER WOMEN TOP FULTON-MONTGOMERY 72-56

The SUNY Cobleskill women’s basketball team posted a sweep in the season series versus Fulton-Montgomery Community College by defeating the Raiders on their home court in Johnstown, NY in Mountain Valley Conference action last night by a score of 72-56. The victory improves the Fighting Tigers overall record to 18-4 on the season with an 8-3 mark versus Mountain Valley opponents.

Freshman center Shelley Pierson, Watervliet, NY, Watervliet High School, proved to be a deciding factor in the paint for the Fighting Tigers tossing in a season high of 20 points to go with eight rebounds and three blocked shots on the evening. Cobleskill also received a career night from freshman forward Marie O’Malley, Oneonta, NY, Oneonta High School, who scored 13 points, passed out four assists, took down three rebounds and made two steals.

Also scoring in double figures on the night were freshman swing-player Jessica Byerwalters, Coeymans Hollow, Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk High School, who tallied 12 points and freshman guard Laura Tisinger, Gloversville, NY, Gloversville High School, who also turned in a solid effort for the Orange & Black in her return to her native area scoring 10 points in the victory. Senior point guard Trista Thomas, Brooklyn, NY, Erasmus Hall High School, played a stellar floor game, despite not scoring, with five assists, seven rebounds and three steals on the night.

“We put together two very good offensive halves tonight,” said Fighting Tiger Head Coach Josh Suttles. “In the second half they made two runs to cut 20 point leads down to eight points. We did an excellent job then of maintaining our poise, not getting rattled and making the extra pass which led to a lot of lay-ups with 21 of our 24 field goals coming off assists. With 28 bench points highlighted by Marie O’Malley’s 13 we had a very balanced attack with everyone really contributing to the win.”

The Fighting Tigers will next be in action on Saturday February 9th when they host the Timberwolves of Adirondack Community College for a Mountain Valley Conference contest beginning at 12:00 PM.

TIGER NOTES: Schenectady Community College has notified the SUNY Cobleskill Athletic Department that they are suspending their women’s basketball program for the rest of the season and will be forfeiting Tuesday night’s contest scheduled to be played at Schenectady to the Fighting Tigers. The Fighting Tigers also announced that the team’s game versus Niagara Community College originally scheduled to be played on Sunday February 3rd at Niagara will now be played on Sunday February 17th at Cobleskill with tip-off scheduled for 3:00 PM.