The Oswego State women's basketball team picked up its second victory of the season in a convincing 74-57 win over visiting Cazenovia College on Friday evening in Max Ziel Gymnasium. Oswego's record improves to 2-6 with the triumph over the Wildcats, while Cazenovia drops to 3-5.
In a game where it never trailed, Oswego took a double-figure lead with 44 seconds remaining in the second quarter and never let the margin dip below that mark the rest of the way. The Lakers grew the advantage to as many as 27, which they captured at 7:19 of the fourth quarter, controlling the tilt from start to finish.
Alison Nunziato had a break-out performance against the Wildcats to lead Oswego. Entering Friday's contest, Nunziato had eight double-figure scoring nights in her career, with none reaching the 20-point plateau. In just 35 minutes of action facing Cazenovia, the West Sand Lake, N.Y. native lit up the scoreboard for 29 points. Nunziato shot 60.0% (9-for-15) from the field and was just shy of that percentage from distance, making five of her 10 3-point attempts. To go along with a 6-for-6 night from the charity stripe, Nunziato also crashed the boards for eight rebounds. The junior chipped in two blocks and two assists to round out her stat-filled evening.
Aiding in the offensive effort were Mary Mazzella, cashing in 12 points, and a pair of 10-point showings fromTayler Sorell and Courtney Ameele. Mazzella, despite the guard's 5-foot-4 frame, matched Nunziato on the glass with eight boards. The junior also distributed the rock for a game-high six assists while pressuring the Cazenovia offense on her way to three steals.
Although Nunziato and Mazella combined for 16 rebounds, Zana Dillard paced the Lakers in that category with 13 while Allie Izzo followed close behind with a career-high 12. Izzo was just two-points shy of her first-career double-double, posting eight points to go along with her rebounding display.
As a team, Oswego held Cazenovia to just 30.5% (18-for-59) shooting from the field while out-rebounding the Wildcats 57-37.
The Lakers will return to action after the holiday break as they take travel to Nazareth College for a 2 p.m. contest on Jan. 2.
