Driscoll Nets 1,000 Points; Women's Hoops Wins 3rd Straight

Oswego State women's basketball overcame an eight-point halftime deficit to beat SUNYIT 82-72 in overtime at the Campus Center in Utica, N.Y. Wednesday night. Senior Sam Driscoll (pictured) knocked down seven three-pointers, one short of her single-game school record, and led all scorers with a career-high 27 points. She became the eighth Laker in program history to surpass the 1,000 point milestone.

Senior Sarah Lombard, who became the program's seventh 1,000-point scorer on Feb. 8, led the front court effort with 20 points and three steals. Center Jessica Collins fell just short of a double-double with eight points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Freshman Traci Bacon chipped in with 16 points and five assists.

The Lakers have now won three-straight games and improved their overall record to 12-10. They are 7-7 in SUNYAC play and remain in third place of the conference's West division. The Lakers have already clinched a spot in the SUNYAC post-season tournament and will play on the road in the quarterfinals Feb 26. Oswego State will finish out regular season at Freonia and Buffalo State this weekend.

Ryan Maloney

Upset! Women's Hoops Downs Brockport

The Oswego State women's basketball team got its biggest victory of the season, defeating visiting Brockport 74-58 on Saturday afternoon at Max Ziel Gymnasium in Oswego.


The Lakers are now 10-10 overall and 5-7 in the SUNY Athletic Conference. Brockport lost for just the fourth time all season, falling to 18-4 overall and 11-2 in the conference.

Oswego State was led by 16 points each from seniors Sarah Lombard and Sam Driscoll, who were honored before the game with classmates Alaina Hannahs and Jess Collins. The quartet was playing its final regular-season home game and each contributed greatly to the victory.

Collins had 12 points and six rebounds and Hannahs had four points and eight rebounds.

Brockport was led by Courtney Hines, Ashley Broadhurst, and Christine Princehorn as each scored 12 points in the game.

Oswego State held Brockport to just 29 percent shooting in the game, and forced 14 turnovers. Traci Bacon acored 13 points for the Lakers.

The Lakers are back in action Friday night at Morrisville.

Women's Hoops Falls to Geneseo

The Oswego State women's basketball team lost 54-53 to Geneseo on Friday night at Max Ziel Gymnasium in Oswego.

Sarah Lombard scored 14 points to lead the Lakers, and became the seventh player in the Oswego State women's basketball program's history to reach the 1,000-point milestone. Lombard's basket that helped her reach the milestone also tied the score at 47-47 with 1:33 remaining.

Geneseo got a fast-break layup from Annie Verdino after beating Oswego State full-court pressure to regain the lead, and made five of six free-throw attempts in the final minute to seal the victory.

Traci Bacon scored 11 points for Oswego State and Lombard added nine rebounds in the contest. Geneseo was paced by Khadija Campbell and Annie Verdino, as each scored 14 points in the contest. Amanda Haney added 12.

Oswego State fell to 9-10 overall and 4-8 in the SUNY Athletic Conference. Geneseo is now 10-11 overall and 8-4 in the conference.

The Lakers host Brockport Saturday at 2 p.m.

Hoops Programs Extend Winning Streaks

The Oswego State women's basketball team defeated Morrisville 49-40 on Tuesday night at Max Ziel Gymnasium in Oswego. Oswego State's four-game winning streak has them back over .500 at 9-8 overall this season, and 4-5 in the SUNY Athletic Conference. Morrisville remained winless at 0-13 overall and 0-9 in the SUNYAC.

In a sloppy first half, Oswego State built a nine-point halftime lead at 27-18. That nine-point margin held up in the second half, as Driscoll scored eight of her 18 points after the break. Sarah Lombard added nine points for the Lakers and seven rebounds. Traci Bacon also had seven rebounds in the game. The Lakers will play on the road this weekend, at SUNYIT on Friday and at Cortland on Saturday. Both games begin at 6 p.m.

The men's basketball team turned a one-point halftime deficit into a big lead in the second half, and held on for an 83-78 win over Morrisville in a SUNY Athletic Conference game on Tuesday night at Max Ziel Gymnasium in Oswego. The Lakers had four players score in double figures, led by Tommy Downing with 24 points including six 3-pointers. Mahamoud Jabbi added 18, Nick Perioli scored 14, and Kyle Reuter finished the game with 13 for Oswego State.

After trailing 38-37 at halftime, the Lakers outscored Morrisville 35-15 to start the second half and held a 19-point lead with six and a half minutes remaining. Morrisville started to get baskets off of penetration and forced some Oswego State turnovers to get back into the contest, eventually cutting the lead to just three points in the final minute, but a pair of free throws by Downing sealed the victory.

Oswego State improved to 13-4 overall and 7-2 in the SUNYAC with their fifth straight win, while Morrisville is 4-11 and 1-8 in the conference. The Lakers return to action on Friday at SUNYIT and Saturday at Cortland. Both games begin at 8 p.m.

Women's Hoops Wins 3rd Straight

The Oswego State women's basketball team won its third straight game, defeating visiting Fredonia 64-55 on Saturday night at Max Ziel Gymnasium in Oswego.

Sam Driscoll scored 22 points for Oswego State and Traci Bacon added 13. Bacon scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half, and made three 3-pointers in the second half as Oswego State increased its lead.

The teams exchanged the lead through the first six minutes of the second half before Oswego State went on a 10-0 run, highlighted by baskets from Alaina Hannahs and Sarah Lombard, and took a 46-37 lead.

The Lakers evened their overall record at 8-8 with the victory and improved to 3-5 in the SUNYAC. Fredonia fell to 6-10 overall and 1-7 in the conference.

Oswego State hosts Morrisville on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Women's hoops wins second straight

The Oswego State women's basketball team defeated Plattsburgh 71-63 on Friday night at Plattsburgh. The Lakers are now 5-2 on the season.

Sarah Lombard led Oswego State with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field as the Lakers built an eight-point halftime lead and made it stand up for the victory. Two other Lakers scored in double-figures as Jessica Collins scored 13 points and Jenny Brewer added 12. Collins also had 13 rebounds, while Lombard pulled down nine boards.

Plattsburgh's leading scorer was Katie Simpson, with 19 points.

The Lakers don't play again until the Amerisport Tournament in Daytona Beach, Fla. on Dec. 28 and 30. Oswego State will play Wis.-Stout in the first game and Simpson College in the second game.

Oswego State Sports Information

Clarkson comes to "The Z" looking for 3rd straight W

The Oswego State women's basketball team hosts Clarkson (2-4) tomorrow night at the Max Ziel Gymnasium. The Lakers (3-2) and Golden Knights appear to be headed in opposite directions as Oswego State has lost their last two while Clarkson has prevailed in their last pair. Clarkson began the season with a string of four losses while the Lakers started 3-0.

The two teams share one common opponent. Clarkson lost 76-44 to Potsdam on Nov. 27. Oswego State lost to the Bears 84-70 three days later. Knights leading scorer Monica Thomas was just 1-for-8 from the field with five points in Clarkson's loss. Laker shooting percentage leader Sarah Lombard shot just 1-for-6 in Oswego State's loss. She has missed just 9-of-29 shots on the year.

Both teams came into the 2007-08 season with new coaches. Tracy Bruno came to the Lakers after serving on the staff at Hillsdale College. KJ Krasco was hired at Clarkson after two seasons as an assistant with cross-town rival St. Lawrence. The Knights are led by the play of their back court as 10 of their 13 players are listed as guards, including Thomas (9.3 PPG). The top scorer for Oswego State is also a back court player, senior guard Sam Driscoll (12.6 PPG).

Clarkson's roster features two former Central New York high school standouts. Freshman Lauren Pluchino spent last season in the Liverpool Warriors' back court. Sophomore Michelle Reddinger is a former front court force for C.W. Baker.

Ryan Maloney

First-half dominance leads to Oswego State victory

The Oswego State women's basketball team defeated Rensselaer 66-52 Tuesday night at Max Ziel Gymnasium in Oswego. Laker senior Sarah Lombard led all scorers with 18 points. She made her first seven field goal attempts of the game. Lombard missed her last field goal attempt, ending her streak of 13 consecutive field goals made to start the season.Oswego State's defense forced 29 Red Hawks turnovers. Senior Alaina Hannahs and junior Heather Merino led the Lakers with four steals each. Hannahs also had seven assists and eight rebounds. Laker guard Sam Driscoll fell just short of a double-double, pouring in 10 points while pulling down seven rebounds.

The Lakers held Rensselaer to just 18 points in the first half, and led 36-18 at the break. Rensselaer outscored Oswego State in the second half 34-30. Tory Lyons led the Red Hawks with 16 points in the game and also had eight rebounds. Elizabeth Barker had nine points and nine boards for RPI.

Oswego State improved its record to 3-0 on the season while RPI fell to 1-2. The Lakers return to action Nov. 30 when they host Potsdam in their SUNYAC opener.