The Oswego State women's basketball team dropped Bay Path College in an 88-51 contest in the consolation game of the Max Ziel Tournament on Sunday. Oswego's victory was the first of its season, improving to 1-1, while Bay Path fell to 0-2.
In the first half, guard Alison Nunziato led the Lakers offense with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. The sophomore also paced the squad with four first-half rebounds. Teammate Rachael Windhausen chipped in 10 points of her own in the stanza. The Liverpool native also wreaked havoc on the defensive end, tallying four blocks over the first 20 minutes.
Oswego took control of the game with 13 minutes left in the first half as it went on a 17-9 run over a three-minute span. Guard Mary Mazzella helped cap the run when her no-look pass found Windenhausen for a top-of-the-key jumper.
Nunziato anticipated and stole a pass at midcourt during the run, leading to an easy fast-break score. Steals were a common theme for Oswego, as the squad recorded eight steals in the first half alone. The Lakers took a 46-26 advantage into the locker room thanks to their balanced attack.
Oswego continued where it left off during the second period, getting several players involved.
Alisha Jacobs gave the Lakers a 31-point lead with 9:28 left in regulation. The freshman drove to the right and kissed the ball off the glass in acrobatic fashion. Oswego would only grow its lead from there, ending the game with 37-point advantage, just one-point shy of its largest margin during the contest. It was the Lakers largest margin of victory since it defeated Cazenovia College by 48 (91-43) on Dec. 13, 2013.
Three Lakers finished the night in double figures with Nunziato tallying a game-high 19 points on 77.8% (7-for-9) shooting from the field. Windhausen chipped in 16 while classmate Courtney Ameele notched 10 points. In all, 11 different Lakers scored in the game, including junior Heather Hebert, who was named to the All-Tournament Team following a double-double on Saturday.
Defensively, the squad swarmed Bay Path, picking up 13 total steals and eight blocks in the game while forcing Bay Path to a 1-to-5 assist-to-turnover ratio.
The women's basketball team will hit the road for its next game, facing host Clarkson University for a 6 p.m. matchup on Tuesday.
