The Oswego State women’s basketball team is back in action after a long hiatus from the COVID-19 pandemic.
After a long time off, head coach Sean Pinkerton and his roster have two out of conference games to start the season, losing one to Alfred University and a tight fourth quarter matchup and rebounding with a season opener win against Hilbert College on Thursday.
Forward Diamond Pickett led the way for the Lakers on Nov. 11 with 12 rebounds and 14 points and 22 minutes of play. This included seven offensive rebounds
This contribution is going to be important for the Oswego state women’s basketball team because of the loss of the 2019-2020 season’s leading forwards Sydney Eure and Rama Sy. The two combined for several double-double performances throughout the campaign and were a formidable force, especially early in the non-conference play that season. The team got off to a 4-2 start in 2019-20 before they entered conference play. Then Oswego State went 2-16 in conference play, plagued by injuries to key starters.
Pickett has been helped in the early stages of the season by the sharp shooting of senior guard Danielle Caivana, who has made six three pointers thru the first two games. Throughout two games this year Caivana has tallied 36 points leading the Lakers in three point shooting, field goal percentage and free throws made.
In the Lakers first game on the hardwood against Alfred College, they were able to spread the scoring in all four quarters and stay consistent from the free throw line at 50%. As the game progressed Alfred State was able to pull away in the fourth quarter outscoring the Lakers 20-13 securing the win in the fourth quarter. Two days later Oswego State retaliated at home with a 72-58 victory going on a 17-5 run in the third quarter. Their success came from a balanced scoring attack from Chastin Giles, who scored 11 points, Logan Nyemchek, who scored nine points, Elaina Johnson and Shania Iglesias, who both scored eight points and helped the team pull away.
The Lakers will run into four more out of conference opponents on the schedule before they start SUNYAC play in December. The way the calendar looks for the Lakers in 2021, they will play the bulk of their SUNYAC opponents in 2022, leaving a lot of time to prepare for the homestretch in the spring.
The Lakers will pivot into a tournament on Nov. 19 and Nov. 20 in Morrisville following an early week matchup on Nov. 16 against SUNY Delhi. The team has four more non-conference games before SUNYAC play begins on Nov. 30 against SUNY Cortland.
Image via Oswego State Athletics
