BUFFALO, N.Y. - Cortland overcame an 11-point deficit in the final seven-plus minutes and the Red Dragons defeated host Buffalo State, 71-67, in the SUNYAC opener for both teams.
Four players scored in double figures for Cortland (3-2, 1-0), led by junior Jennifer Deuel (Whitesboro) and sophomore Taylor Miller (Freeport) with 14 points each. Deuel hit 7-of-9 shots from the floor and Miller was 7-for-10. Junior Stephanie Rice (Duanesburg) and senior Caysea Cohen (Stony Brook/Ward Melville) added 13 points apiece.
Cohen also added four assists and seven rebounds, and Deuel had six rebounds and team highs of six steals and two blocks. Rice led the team with eight rebounds, while Miller tallied three assists and five steals. Sophomore Kerry McHugh (Highland Mills/Monroe-Woodbury) chipped in with seven points and three assists.
Britt Perry finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, six steals and three assists for Buffalo State (3-2, 0-1). Jordan Yastremski and Caleh McLean each scored 10 points, Keyonte Edwards grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds, and Taylor Graham recorded a game-high five assists.
Cortland led 19-18 after one quarter but trailed 37-33 at halftime. It was still a four-point lead for the hosts after three quarters, 51-47, but the Bengals extended that margin to 11 at 58-47 with a seven-point run to start the fourth.
Yastremski's layup with 7:29 remaining put Buffalo State up 62-51 before Cortland mounted its comeback. Rice scored seven straight points on a 3-pointer, a jumper and a layup, and Cohen's jumper with 4:57 left pulled Cortland within two at 62-60. The Bengals briefly regrouped and eventually took a 65-60 lead on two Grace Licata free throws with 3:32 left.
Deuel scored layups at the 2:26 and 1:49 marks, each time coming after she blocked a shot on the defensive end, to reduce Cortland's deficit to 65-64. Clarisa Matias sank two free throws for the hosts with 1:26 left, but Miller's layup 15 seconds later again made it a one-point game. Miller then stole the ball and scored with 47 seconds left on the clock to give Cortland a 68-67 lead.
Cohen stole the ball on the Bengals' next possession and hit one free throw with 35 seconds left. Junior Danielle Levine (Holbrook/Sachem North) grabbed an offensive rebound after the missed second foul shot and Cohen was fouled again with 31 seconds left. She made one free throw and Cortland led 70-67.
Buffalo State missed a jumper with 11 seconds remaining and Rice grabbed the rebound. She was fouled and hit the second of her two free throw attempts to finish the scoring.
Cortland shot 48 percent in the second half and 46 percent for the game, while Buffalo State finished at 39 percent. The game was marred by a combined 45 turnovers, 23 by Cortland, and 49 fouls, 25 by Buffalo State. The Bengals made 21-of-33 free throws (64 percent) and 2-of-19 (11 percent) from 3-point range. The Red Dragons were 50 percent (10-of-25) from the line and 20 percent (3-of-15) from the arc.
Cortland will play at Fredonia Saturday at 2 p.m.