CORTLAND, N.Y. – Cortland used an 8-0 run in the first five minutes of the second half to take a 10-point lead and the Red Dragons kept New Paltz in check the rest of the game to defeat the visiting Hawks, 58-49, in SUNYAC play.

Cortland improved to 8-1 overall and leads the SUNYAC with a 3-0 mark. New Paltz slipped to 4-5 overall and 1-2 in the league.

Brittney Dumas (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow) led Cortland with 14 points as the game's lone double-figure scorer. She also hauled in nine rebounds and dished out three assists. Brittany Rando (Owego/Owego Free Academy) scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds, Erin Wolstenholme (Oneonta) finished with eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds and Cassidy Chapko (Valley Falls/Hoosic Valley) added eight points, five rebounds and a game-high four assists.

Also for the Red Dragons, Rae Frasier (Schenectady) recorded eight rebounds and Brooke DeMarco (Grand Island) scored seven points. DeMarco's scoring all came in nine minutes during the second half.

Goldie Harrison paced New Paltz with eight points, six rebounds and three assists. Dariah Duncan scored seven points and Laura Stuart led the Hawks with seven rebounds.

Cortland led 25-23 at halftime after a first half in which each team shot an identical 10-of-30 from the field and 3-of-12 from 3-point range. Rando scored all nine points in the opening period, including Cortland's first six points on two 3-pointers.

The Red Dragons opened the second half with a Chapko layup, followed about a minute later by a Dumas layup. Wolstenholme's jumper at the 17:59 mark and Chapko's layup with 15:29 left pushed Cortland's lead to 33-23. The Red Dragons held the Hawks without a field goal for the first 6:36 of the second half.

Five straight points by DeMarco pushed a 37-30 lead with 10:34 left to 42-30 with 8:18 remaining. From that point, New Paltz was only able to close to within 10 points on three occasions before a layup in the final 10 seconds created the final margin.

Cortland shot 41 percent in the second half and 37 percent for the game, but struggled from the 3-point arc at only 19 percent (3-of-16). New Paltz finished at 31 percent from the floor and 30 percent (6-of-20) from long distance.

Cortland will host Oswego on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in a SUNYAC game.