ONEONTA, NY - Cortland's Tiffany McLaughlin and Jessica Laing combined for 36 points and 20 rebounds in an 83-50 win over Hartwick Saturday night at Binder Gymnasium in the season-opening game for both teams. McLaughlin shot 9-for-12 off the bench for a game-high 20 points while Laing dropped in 16 points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds in the game.
After the Hawks scored the game's first basket on a layup by Lauren Ploof (Hammond, NY), the Red Dragons scored the contest's next 14 points and never looked back. The Red Dragons out-rebounded the Hawks 53-30 in the game and scored 32 points off of 24 'Wick turnovers. Fourteen of the Red Dragons' 15 players figured into the scoring column in the game.
The Hawks shot only 33% from the floor on 18-of-54 shooting. Junior forward Krystle Crouse (Canajoharie, NY) led the Hawks with 12 points and eight boards. She connected on all four of her shots from the floor and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. Kara Foro (Schenectady, NY) and Fritzi Flores (Bergenfield, NJ) combined for 20 points and five three-pointers on the night. Foro scored 10 shooting 4-for-8 from the field with two treys, and Flores knocked down 10 and was 3-of-7 from beyond the arc.
The Hawks will take on another SUNYAC team Tuesday night as they travel up the road to Oneonta State for a 6 p.m. game. Last season at Binder, Foro and Flores combined for 31 points, but SUCO emerged with the victory, 69-57.
