Complete Game Notes - Geneseo vs. Plattsburgh

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. - SUNY Geneseo takes on top-seeded Plattsburgh for the 2014 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Women's Basketball Championship, Saturday afternoon. The third-seeded Knights advanced to the tournament final following a 75-58 victory over second-seeded Buffalo last night in the semifinals after taking down sixth-seeded Fredonia, 55-52,  at home in a first round game on Tuesday. The Cardinals held off Cortland, 69-61, in the semifinals after receiving a first-round bye as the tournament's top seed. The winner wins the SUNYAC Championship and an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

LAST TIME OUT - SUNYAC Semifinals - Geneseo 75, Buffalo State 58
Geneseo junior forward Shannon McGinnis totaled 19 points and 15 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season to lead the Knights to a 75-58 victory over Buffalo State on Friday. Sophomore center Allison McKenna scored 16 points, while sophomore guard Dana Cohan added 13 points in the win. Geneseo turned a five-point halftime lead, 35-30, into a 15-point, 59-44 lead midway through the second half. Leading 63-46 with 4:55 left in regulation, the lead would balloon to as many as 21 down the stretch. Geneseo finished the game with a 50-34 rebounding advantage while limiting the Bengals to to 30.7 shooting (including 27.8 percent in the second half) for the game. 

GENESEO IN THE SUNYAC TOURNAMENT
Geneseo owns an all-time record of 27-21 in SUNYAC Tournament games, including a 14-8 mark in first-round games after Tuesday's win over Fredonia. The Knights made their fourth-straight appearance in the SUNYAC semifinals, improving to 9-9 with their victory over Buffalo State. Geneseo is 4-3 in seven finals appearances, falling to New Paltz, 64-53, a season ago in its most recent appearance.

GENESEO VS. THE CARDINALS
Geneseo leads the all-time series against Plattsburgh, 31-11, but has lost the last three meetings, including a pair of losses during the regular season this year. Geneseo is 2-0 in a pair of SUNYAC Tournament meetings against the Cardinals, but the teams have not met since the Knights picked up a 91-59 victory in a first-round game on Feb. 27. 1997. Geneseo also won a first-round game, 101-40, during the 1995 tournament in the two teams' only other postseason meeting.  

McGINNIS FOR STRENGTH
Geneseo junior forward Shannon McGinnis leads the Knights and ranks sixth in the SUNYAC with 15.0 points per game while leading the league with 9.6 rebounds per game. She also has compiled a 42.4 field goal percentage – fourth best in the conference. Registering nine double-doubles in points and rebounds this season, she scored a career-high 30 points while grabbing 10 rebounds in the Knights' victory over RIT on Dec. 3. She also totaled 24 points and 12 boards in a home win over Oswego on Jan. 28. She is poised to become the 13th member of the program's 1,000-point club, with 988 to date, while her 662 rebounds are three shy of putting her among the top-five on the all-time list.  

BLOCK PARTY
Sophomore center Allison McKenna became Geneseo's all-time leader in blocks after rejecting the 116th shot of her career in Tuesday night's semifinal victory over Fredonia. She broke the record previously set by All-American Mellissa Graham '13, who finished her career a season ago with 115 blocks in four years.

GLASS CLEANERS
Geneseo entered the week ranked sixth nationally in rebounding margin, out-boarding its opposition by an average of 11.8 rebounds per game. Geneseo has only been out-rebounded twice in 27 games this season at Division-II Roberts Wesleyan (49-46) and at Plattsburgh (33-32). The Knights have compiled a 17-1 record when recording a double-digit rebounding advantage, including six occasions totaling more than 20 boards than their opponents. Geneseo set high-water marks by out-rebounding Misericordia by 27 (55-28), and Keuka by 26 (47-21). 

THIRD TIME IS THE CHARM
Plattsburgh is the only SUNYAC team to sweep the Knights in their two regular season meetings this year. The Cardinals held off the Knights, 62-51, in their visit to the North Country on Jan. 10, before moving past their hosts, 81-67, of Feb. 8. Junior forward Shannon McGinnis led the way with 15 points in the road setback, while first-year forward Bridgit Ryan scored a career-high 22 points during the home loss.