By Emma Deo
After a bitter ending last year, Plattsburgh State women’s basketball’s young squad is hungry for a SUNYAC playoff berth. The team missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker, just one win away from earning a spot.
In the 2023-2024 season, the Cardinals finished 10-14, 7-11, placing eighth in the SUNYAC. The team has not reached the tournament in a decade, following their 2013-2014 championship win.
“By every way that you could measure experience, we had the youngest team in the conference, whether it was by lineup, rotation or full roster,” head coach Ben Sarraf said.
On average, the Plattsburgh State roster has 1.7 seasons of collegiate basketball experience. Considering the youth of the lineup, the team gained a lot of experience in just one season. The team also nearly doubled their conference wins from the season prior, jumping from four SUNYAC wins to seven.
The Cardinals lost their lone 2023-2024 senior Mya Smith to graduation. Smith started all 24 games for the Cardinals. Plattsburgh State will welcome five guards from New York in their freshman class, including Katie Cunningham from Heuvelton, Emily Smith from Greenville, Meredith Bush from Gouverneur, Tori Russo from Schenectady and Kayla Johannesen from Hyde Park. Kaelyn Morgan from Chateaugay, New York also joins the first-years as a forward.
“It’s only been 15 practices, but they’re doing well, they’re acclimating well, and more than anything, their attitudes are phenomenal,” Sarraf said. “They all definitely have the ability to prove themselves on this team.”
Plattsburgh will return ten players from last season’s roster. These include the following sophomores: guard Julia Greek, guard/forward Felicia Caarls, guard Selma Deisz, forward Kassidy Flayter, and guard Lauren LaFountain.
The juniors returning are guard/forward Kathy Peterson-Ross, center Imani Walcott, and guard Jaden Wilson.
Additionally, senior guard/forward Payton Couture will also return.
Deisz and Peterson-Ross appeared in all 24 games for the Cardinals last season, with Peterson-Ross starting in each.
Couture and Wilson will captain the Cardinals this season. Couture, reigning from Redford, N.Y. was named to the All-SUNYAC Third team in 2023-2024, starting in all 24 games she appeared in and leading the team in assists. Wilson appeared in 21 games in her sophomore season, putting up a career high 24 points against Buffalo State on Jan. 6.
“Payton is one of the best players in the conference. She upholds the standards of our team and definitely meets or exceeds the expectations that we try to set. She’s definitely quiet, but she leads in her own way,” Sarraf said. “Jaden Wilson is the more vocal one. You can see how she leads with her voice and her energy.
Wilson said the Cardinals are looking to continue to build team chemistry as their season continues, pushing them to become stronger defensively and finally achieve a spot in the SUNYAC championship.
“With a young roster, building trust and cohesion is essential, so we are focusing on communication and playing to each other’s strengths,” Wilson wrote in a text. “On the court, we’re aiming to limit our opponents’ scoring through effective rotations and strong defense.”
Plattsburgh State also returns junior center Imani Walcott, who was also named to the All-SUNYAC Third team in 2023-2024. Walcott started in all 24 games she appeared in, averaging a team high of 14 points per game, boasting a 51.1 shooting percentage which was third in the SUNYAC. Walcott also led the team and conference in blocks per game, averaging 2.6.
“I would say we’ve been doing a good job coming together as a team and being able to read everyone, even the new freshmen,” Walcott said.
Walcott also emphasized the team’s desire to reach the SUNYAC tournament, looking to place in the top three in the conference.
