Mary Culeton
Trailing by 10 points after the first quarter, the Fredonia State women's basketball team would outscore visiting Cortland over the next three quarters, but fell just short in a 66-60 defeat. Renee Park led the Devils with 17 points -- one of four Devils in double figures. Park also had team highs with six rebounds and four assists.
Katie Pitcher added 14, Lauren Mickley had 11, and Mary Culeton had 10 points.
Cortland was led by Maggie Malone with 19 points and seven rebounds.
Cortland outrebounded the Devils 36-28. The Devils did shoot 88 percent (12-15) from the line.
Cortland opened the game with a 16-6 lead that included four three pointers.
The Red Dragons biggest lead of the game came two minutes into the second quarter. A layup by Niya Longford made it 27-13.
From there, the Devils got rolling going on an 18-6 run. A three pointer by Park with 1:39 on the clock brought Fredonia State within two, 33-31. They closed the half trailing by five, 36-31.
Cortland outscored the Devils 13-12 in the third. Late in the quarter, the Devils were again able to pull within two points. Isabella Wier's layup with 38 seconds showing brought the score to 45-43. Back-to-back layups gave Cortland a 49-43 lead heading into the final frame.
With the Devils down just three, 51-48, Cortland used a 9-0 run to go up 12 points. The Devils punched back with a 8-0 run to stay in the game. They would trail 60-56 following a pair of free throws by Culeton. Mickley and Culeton accounted for four points each in that spurt with 1:45 remaining.
The Dragons (6-2 / 3-0 SUNYAC) connected on their final six free throw attempts to put the game away.
The Devils (1-2 / 6-3) play host to Nazareth in a non-conference tilt on Wednesday. Tip off is slated for 6 p.m.
