The Oswego State women's basketball team held off Cazenovia College on the road for a 66-65 nonconference win behind a pair of double-doubles on Friday night. With the win, the Lakers go to 3-4 on the season while the Wildcats drop to 1-6.
Junior forward Heather Hebert turned in a stellar performance, recording a career-high 23 rebounds, including 14 on the defensive glass. That total surpassed her previous mark of 15, set last season at home against Plattsburgh on Dec. 6. The junior also captured a double-double with the team's second-most points in the game, scoring 15. Hebert's 15 points only trailed freshman teammate Rachael Windhausen, who also had a double-double with a game-high 16 points in addition to 10 boards.
Also finishing in double figure for the Lakers was Mary Mazella (14) and Alisha Jacobs (10).
Oswego opened the contest on a 9-0 run with all the points coming from Hebert and Windhausen. The freshman kicked off the game with a jumper just nine seconds in, jumpstarting the stretch that lasted the first 2:50. Windhausen added a layup 1:46 later, sandwiched between a Hebert lay-in and a free-throw. The junior capped the span with a basket at 17:10.
During most of the first 20 minutes, the game continued in the Lakers' favor, leading by as many as 16 (33-17) with 5:38 remaining in the period. Cazenovia committed 16 fouls in the first half, which wound up disrupting the Oswego offensive possession towards the end of the half. The Lakers' were unable to record a field-goal with the frequent stoppage of play in the final 5:38 and shot 7-for-13 (53.9%) from the charity stripe during that time. That final portion of the half brought the Wildcats to within eight, with Oswego heading to the locker rooms with a 40-32 advantage.
The Laker again controlled the early parts of a period, leading by as many as 13 points at several different points during the second half. Cazenovia made another run to end the game but Oswego withstood the push, holding off the Wildcats for the one-point victory. After Cazenovia's Skylar Girard knotted the game 65-65 with a trio of free-throws for the first tie of the contest with just 45 seconds remaining, Jacobs put the game away for the Lakers. On the Lakers' next possession, the guard was fouled and went 1-for-2 from the line, with the good free-throw being enough to capture the win.
Oswego will now be on break until the New Year, when the return to the court at 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 2 at Clarkson University.
