OSWEGO, NY – The Lakers celebrated senior day this past Saturday for Senior Payton Daeffler but unfortunately they couldn’t keep pace with the 19-4 Cortland Red Dragons falling 74-37.

The first quarter was a disaster for the Lakers as they allowed the Red Dragons to go up 13-0 with 5:25 in the first quarter as the Lakers had no answers for the Red Dragons. The Lakers would finally get on the board as Logan Castiglione would score to put the Lakers down 13-2. The Lakers began to rally at the end of the first quarter and made the score an eight point game but still trailed 17-9. The Lakers went 33.33% from the field in the first quarter while the Red Dragons went 40.00% from the field. The Lakers also hit a three-pointer in the first as Caitie Lilly knocked one down.

The second quarter started with Shania Iglesias scoring five points including a three-pointer to help the Lakers trail 17-14 in the early minutes of the second quarter. Unfortunately after this the Lakers were just outmatched and couldn’t keep pace with the Red Dragons as they trailed 30-18 at half. The Lakers were slightly better from the field by a small margin shooting from 40% while the Red Dragons despite the halftime lead shot from 28.57%.

The third quarter started with the Red Dragons putting up five points to begin the quarter. With 6:26 left in the third quarter Peyton Daeffler  scored her 101th point of her career as she eclipsed the 100-point barrier for her career. Shania Iglesias would knock down her second three-pointer with 3:49 left in the third quarter but the Lakers still trailed by 21 points. Shania Iglesias lead the Lakers with five points in the third quarter. The Lakers trailed the Red Dragons by a huge margin 55-33 at the end of the third quarter.

The fourth quarter saw the Red Dragons continue to extend their lead. The quarter started with Chastin Giles making two three-pointers to cut the Red Dragons lead to 20. The game was never close for the Lakers after the two free-throws. The Red Dragons would dominate the Lakers 74-37 making this their worst loss since losing to New Paltz two weeks ago. With the loss the Lakers have been eliminated from any chance of qualifying for the SUNYAC tournament. Despite this, the Lakers produced their best season in ten years and it was coach Pinkerton’s best season while coaching the Lakers.

The Lakers will travel to Brockport this Friday, February 17th. The Lakers will look to get back on track and avoid their losing their fifth straight game. The Lakers face a Golden Eagles who sits at 10-13 on the season currently and had gotten absolutely crushed by New Paltz 60-37 this past Saturday. The Golden Eagles have locked up a spot in the SUNYAC tournament so the Lakers will look to knock the Golden Eagles off balance and shake up the SUNYAC tournament seeding. New Paltz and Cortland are the top two seeds in the SUNYAC tournament. The Golden Eagles already defeated the Lakers 75-60 at the Max Ziel Gymnasium back on December 2nd.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY OSWEGO STATE ATHLETICS