LOCH SHELDRAKE – The SUNY Sullivan Women’s Basketball team hosted Niagara County Community College for the NJCAA D2 District East A/B Tournament on Saturday afternoon. The Generals squared off against Westchester Community College last weekend at SUNY Orange, where they handled business and took home the Region XV title with a 65-28 victory. Unfortunately, Saturday’s matchup featured a much different opponent, and after a wire-to-wire battle, Niagara secured a 64-60 victory over Sullivan.

“We had a great game plan against Niagara,” Sullivan Women’s coach, and Region XV Coach of the Year, Ben Newberg said. “I think we took away a lot of their strengths and we battled the whole way through.”

The Thunderwolves got off to a quick start in all four quarters, but for the first three the Generals were able to recover and overtake their opponents. Niagara started off the game with a 5-2 lead before the Generals overtook them early, and Niagara briefly held a 7-6 lead in the opening minutes before trailing for nearly the entire game.

SUNY Sullivan buckled down and finished the first quarter on a 14-5 run to take a 20-12 lead. Niagara started the second quarter on a 6-2 run to cut the lead to four points, but the Generals closed the half with a 13-10 run to take a seven-point lead into halftime.

In a low-scoring third quarter, Sullivan was able to extend the lead to 10 points, staving off a 5-1 Niagara run with a 13-6 to close out the quarter.

Foul trouble caught up with the Generals early in the final frame. Niagara started the last quarter the same way they started the first three, opening on a scoring run to cut into the Sullivan lead. The run in the fourth quarter brought the Thunderwolves all the way back, starting the quarter on a 13-2 run and taking their first lead since the opening minutes at 52-51. When Niagara took the lead, they were nearing the bonus as Sullivan out-fouled them 4-0 at that point in the quarter.

Both teams exchanged buckets over the final few minutes, with neither team able to run away with it. The Generals trailed by three with 12.6 seconds to play, and they sent the Thunderwolves to the line with intentional fouls to extend the game, but it wasn’t meant to be as Niagara cashed in on enough free throws to keep their lead and close out the 64-60 victory.

Despite the early exit in the District Championship, the Generals still put together a great season, finishing 17-10 and earning a Region XV Championship.

“Our 22-23 campaign was a successful one, finishing 19-10 on the year. We were undefeated in the region, Region XV champs and finished February on a 7-0 run,” Newberg added.