The Geneseo women’s basketball team opened their first game of the second semester in uncharacteristic fashion, as the Knights—who have led the SUNYAC in three-point percentage, field goal percentage and free-throw percentage for the majority of the season—couldn’t buy a bucket as they ultimately lost to their division rival SUNY Brockport 63-56 on Saturday Jan. 25.
The Knights shot an abysmal 21.4 percent from three and fared only slightly better from the field and foul line with percentages of 35.5 for the former and 52.4 for the latter in a game junior forward Kerrin Montgomery described as “a poor representation of our team.”
Montgomery is correct in her summation of the game, as the Knights had their worst statistical performance since mid-November. By just looking at the statistics, one could assume that Geneseo would likely be atop the standings of the SUNYAC. They lead the SUNYAC in all offensive categories except rebounding, in which they are third by a narrow margin, and points per game, behind only the conference-leading Cortland Red Dragons.
In addition to their offensive greatness, Geneseo puts up impressive defensive numbers, too. The Knights are second in points allowed per game and field goal percentage allowed (26.3). Most importantly, the Knights lead the SUNYAC in a margin of victory (8.9)—which is considered by many to be the most telling stat of a team’s real talent level—by a whole three points more than second-place Cortland.
The stats tell the story of a team ready to take the SUNYAC by storm, but the eye-test shows a team that needs to grow together and trust one another to realize its potential. In the game against Brockport, this lack of cohesion was clear for all to see.
The game started out great for the Knights when they raced out to a 6-0 lead in the first minute of the game led by effective shot selection and costly turnovers from Brockport. Geneseo maintained this lead for most of the first quarter before ending the quarter on a seven to two-run that left the score 20-12 in the Knights’ favor.
The second quarter saw both teams gain little ground until the last two minutes of the first half, when the back-and-forth pace of the game began to slow Geneseo down and Brockport went on a 7-0 run. The first half ended with Geneseo up 32-30.
Led by strong play from Montgomery, the Knights kept up with Brockport for most of the third quarter, but another late run from Brockport saw the Knights’ lead give way as the quarter ended with a 45-41 Brockport lead.
The fourth quarter featured much of the same as both teams traded blows until there were only two minutes left and the score was tied 53-53. Momentum seemed to be in Geneseo’s favor due to an impressive block from junior guard Lindsay Halpin and a dagger three from senior guard Sara Ciotti. The tide turned quickly in Brockport’s favor, however, as the Knights could do little to stop their opponents.
The game ended with a demoralizing defeat at the hands of Brockport and again the Knights simply couldn’t hold on until the end. Montgomery, who finished with her sixth double-double and seventh-straight double-digit scoring effort, gave her thoughts on the loss. “It was the little things that ended up costing down the line, adding up all of our small mistakes and wasted possessions were the key rather than our play at the end,” she said.
The loss against Brockport marks the third home loss for Geneseo and is another glaring reminder that the Knights have all the talent in the world, but desperately need to work together to avoid mental errors and the occasional bone-headed play in order to reach the heights expected for them at the beginning of the season.
The Knights defeated SUNY Fredonia 53-37 on Tuesday Jan. 28 in another vitally important conference matchup.