The Oswego State women's basketball team began 2018 on the road at New Paltz, falling 58-48 to the Hawks. With the loss, the Lakers drop to 4-8 on the year and 1-4 in SUNYAC action while New Paltz moves to 6-5, 2-3.
Raiven Encarnacion paced all scores in the game with a career-high tying 13 points, matching her output at home against Oneonta on Dec. 5. She was 4-for-9 from the floor and 4-for-7 from the foul line to reach the total. The freshman also collected five rebounds.
Leading the rebounding category, however, was an outstanding display by Zana Dillard. The senior corralled 19 boards, just five-shy of her career-high and 12 more than any other player in Friday's tilt. As a sophomore, Dillard registered 24 rebounds in back-to-back games. She missed a double-double by just a point as Dillard and classmate Courtney Ameele each finished with nine points.
Rachael Windhausen chipped in with seven points and seven boards while Quincey Zimmerman added six points and a team-high three assists.
Both teams struggled to score in the first five minutes but Oswego jumped out to a 4-0 lead. The Hawks responded with nine-straight tallies to hold a 9-4 edge after the opening quarter. A three-point spread in favor of New Paltz sent the game to half 23-15. The Hawks were able to double their lead in the third quarter, before Oswego tightened the margin in the final period with a six-point advantage. Trailing by as many as 17 in the fourth, the Lakers battled back and cut the lead to single digits several times but never were able to make it less than eight.
Oswego will look for its second conference win when it returns to the hardwood at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Oneonta.
