Playoff atmosphere. Overtime. Long threes. Comebacks. The 1,000-point Club. Tuesday's women's basketball had everything, including a Fredonia victory as the Blue Devils claimed an 89-81 matchup over visiting Brockport in the quarterfinals of the SUNYAC tournament.
Sabrina Macaulay (Newark, N.Y./Newark) scored a career-high 33 points and joined the 1,000-Point club to lead Fredonia. Throw in six blocks, four assists and nine rebounds, and its safe to say she turned in a solid effort.
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Alexis Cheatham (Lockport/Lockport) also turned in a clutch performance. After going 0-for-4 from beyond the arc in the first half, Cheatham nailed a trio of deep threes in the second half to finish with 19 points. She also went 6-for-6 from the line in the final 1:40 of overtime and added seven assists and a pair of steals to help clinch the win.
Jacque Law (Machias/Pioneer) turned in a 15-point, nine-rebound performance. Jenna Einink (Mayville/Chautauqua Lake) and Kathryn Halloran (Angola/Immaculata) finished with eight points apiece, with Halloran tying for the team lead with nine rebounds.
As a team, the Fredonia defense had 12 blocked shots.
Brockport was led by Faith Welch with 23 points and five assists, and Hannah Spencer with 14 points. Olivia Suhr finished with 10 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
The teams traded leads early on. Then with Fredonia up 13-11, Brockport closed the first quarter on a 10-2 run to take a 21-15 lead. They scored the final eight points on a pair of threes and a layup.
The second quarter saw Brockport keep the pressure on. They would lead by as many as 10 points on four occasions in the quarter, and would go ahead 45-36 at halftime. The Golden Eagles shot a blistering 57.6 percent from the field, including 4 of 7 from beyond the arc compared to 3 of 13 by the Blue Devils. The Brockport long-range output included a pair of threes by Hannah Spencer, who had 10 points at the break, and a left-handed desperation hook by Faith Welch just before the first-half buzzer. Macaulay had 13 to lead Fredonia.
Things changed quickly in the third quarter.
Fredonia outscored Brockport 21-4 in that frame. Halloran opened the third with a jumper. Brockport scored the next two field goals to go up 11 points, 49-38 -- its largest lead of the game.
From there the Devils rattled off a 19-0 run. Halloran nailed a layup, followed by a pair of buckets by Macaulay. Law scored the next three with a field goal and free throw. Macaulay tied the game at 49-all with another close-range shot. Cheatham then hit a long three to give Fredonia its first lead since the 2:41 mark of the first quarter when they led 15-13.
Macaulay put the Devils up five, 54-49, with a layup on the next possession. Cheatham kept the momentum rolling with another long three just inside the buzzer to give the Devils a 57-49 lead heading into the final quarter.
During the 19-0 run, Brockport would shoot 0-for-10 from the field, go 0-for-4 from the line and turn the ball over three times. During the same stretch, Fredonia shot eight for 12 from the floor.
Brockport opened the fourth quarter with a pair of layups by Hannah Rehbaum to make it a four-point game, 57-53.
With 3:59 left to play, Einink nailed a three that appeared to put away the Golden Eagles as the Devils took a 72-63 lead. Brockport then went on an 8-1 run to pull within two points, 73-71.
The Devils nursed a six-point lead with just over a minute left in regulation. Brockport would score the final six points to send it to overtime. Welch was fouled shooting a three-point attempt, and hit all three of her free throws. Rehbaum hit a three-pointer with 10 seconds left to tie the game at 77.
Midway through the overtime, Fredonia led 82-81. Law then converted a one of two free throw attempts. The Blue Devil defense held Brockport scoreless from there on, while getting its final six points courtesy of Cheatham's free throws.
Throughout the game, Brockport was plagued by foul trouble. Suhr and Erin Cunningham each had three fouls in the first half. By game's end, Schyler Laux fouled out, and Welch, Rehbaum and Suhr saw their minutes limited with four fouls each.
For the game, Fredonia was 26 of 34 from the line, compared to Brockport's 11 of 18. Brockport shot 42 percent from the floor, while the Devils hit 38 percent. Both teams had 41 rebounds. Brockport was 10 of 17 from beyond the arc, while Fredonia was seven of 24.
Brockport finishes its season with a 13-13 mark.
Fredonia downed Brockport for the third time this season, and moves to 19-7. They travel to New Paltz this weekend to continue post-season play. They take on No. 2 seed Geneseo at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The other semi-final pits No. 4 Oneonta against No. 1 New Paltz.
