#25 SUNY NEW PALTZ SINKS SAINTS IN SECOND ROUND OF NCAA TOURNEY, 80-49

THE BASICS 

Score:     Emmanuel College, 49; SUNY New Paltz, 80
Records: Emmanuel College Saints (24-6)
               SUNY New Paltz Hawks (25-4)
Location: New Paltz, N.Y. – Hawk Center
Date: Saturday, March 2, 2019

THE LEAD: Senior guard Lindsey Bettke (Pelham, N.Y.) and junior guard Marion Dietz (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) combined for 49 points to power #25 SUNY New Paltz past Emmanuel College in Second Round action of the 2019 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball tournament at the Hawk Center.

HOW IT HAPPENED  

• The Hawks came out with the hot hand, connecting on three triples in the opening five minutes of play to race out to the early 11-6 lead and carried a 20-13 advantage into the second quarter led by 10 points in the frame from Dietz.
• New Paltz opened the second quarter with a quick 7-2 flurry capped with a three by Bettke to force Emmanuel to take a timeout with 8:13 left to play in the half trailing 27-15.
• Bettke connected on triples on the next two offensive sets for the Hawks to add to the hosts lead, making it 33-17 before Dietz added another trey to bump the lead to 36-17.
• With two minutes remaining in the half, Bettke hit a deep three on the wing in transition to give the Hawks a 20 point advantage at 43-23 before senior guard Taylor Howell (Baldwin, N.Y.) closed the half with five straight to account for a 48-23 halftime score.
• Bettke led all scorers at the break with 18 point on 7-of-11 shooting including 4-for-5 from downtown.
• Emmanuel needed a second half surge to get back into the game but a strong defensive front thwarted any chance of a comeback as the Hawks outscored the Saints 17-11 in the third quarter to take a 65-35 lead into the final frame.
• The Saints could not overcome the large deficit in the final quarter as SUNY New Paltz cruised to the 80-49 victory to advance to the Sweet 16.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• EC junior guard Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda (Cambridge, Mass.) led Emmanuel with
• The Hawks ended the night with 14 three pointers, the most they've had in a game since January 19 when they connected on 17 triples in a win over Buffalo State.
• SUNY New Paltz won the battle of the boards as well, outrebounding the Saints by a 42-35 margin in the action.
• Bettke, the 2019 SUNYAC Player of the Year, finished with a game-high 29 points while Dietz added 23 points as the pair combined for nine three pointers.

OF NOTE

• Ramirez-Tejeda ends her junior campaign with 626 points and 328 for the Saints, both single-season Emmanuel records.
• The -18 point difference in the second quarter (28-10, SUNY) tied the largest quarter differential for the Saints all season (30-12, Amherst 11/27/18).
• The 31 point loss was the largest defeat of the year for the Saints.
• The 24 wins for the Saints marks the most victories since the 2011-12 campaign when the team finished 25-7 and advanced to the Elite 8 in the NCAA tourney.

SENIOR FAREWALL

• The Saints bid farewell to seniors Madison McLaughlin (Westerly, R.I.) and Mary McCarthy (Scituate, Mass.) who played their last contest for the Saints this evening. Over their careers, Emmanuel posted an overall record of 85-27 (.759) and captured its first GNAC Championship since the 2013 season. McLaughlin graduates with the program record for career three pointers while McCarthy ranks in the top five all-time for career blocked shots.