MORRISVILLE, N.Y. – The Morrisville State College women's basketball team notched their first post-season victory in program history Tuesday night as a Division III member of the NCAA, topping local rival Cazenovia College 69-52 in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Championship Tournament quarterfinal round held in Morrisville.

The win lifts Morrisville State to a 19-7 overall record, as they advance to face Lancaster Bible College who defeated Wells College 70-39 earlier tonight.

Cazenovia concludes the season with a 10-16 overall record.

Morrisville State had three notch double figures on the night in the win, including Alyssa Gratien (Syracuse, N.Y.) who paved the way with 18. Jennel Paul (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Jordan Anderson (West Edmeston, N.Y.) each added 10, while combining for 11 rebounds, five assists and five steals.

Marissa Woodard (Unadilla, N.Y.) collected nine points and two blocks, as teammate Caitlin Duree (Albuquerque, N.M.) chipped in eight points to go along with her six rebounds, six assists and five steal performance on the night in the win.

Erin O'Malley led Cazenovia's efforts with 14 points, adding three assists and three blocks, while teammate Skylar Girard contributed 1 1points and four steals in the loss.

Morrisville State dominated the glass, out rebounding the visitors 44-27, including a 21-9 effort on the offensive boards. The Mustangs also forced 27 Wildcat miscues, which they converted into 29 points.

The Mustangs tallied the first nine points of the contest before Cazenovia was able to muster a score, holding the Wildcats scoreless for the opening five minutes.

Girard was able to cut the deficit to just two at 6:58, converting the fast break layup off the steal for a Cazenovia tally, but Morrisville State responded with a 12-2 run over the next five minutes to head into the break with a 12 point advantage.

In the second, the hosts jumped out to a 15 point lead six minutes in before Cazenovia used a 9-2 offensive spurt to cut the deficit to eight with just over seven minutes showing on the clock.

Morrisville State then put the game out of reach for the Wildcats, going on a 19-2 run over the next five minutes to build up a 25 point advantage en route to the quarterfinal win.

The Mustangs hit 40% from the floor on the night, converting 24-of-60 shots, while turning in a 81% shooting performance from the free throw line on 17-of-21 attempts.

Morrisville State will look to avenge an early season loss to the Chargers Saturday, appearing in the semifinals of the NEAC tourney for the first time in program history. Tip-off is scheduled Saturday, February 28 at 4 p.m. at host SUNY Polytechnic.

Morrisville State's curricula are enriched with applied learning and pave the way for opportunity at both the Morrisville and Norwich campuses. An action-oriented, interactive learning lab, the college is a national leader in technology and has been lauded for its exemplary, innovative and effective community service programs.

In addition to being named to the 2014 President's Higher Community Education Service Honor Roll, the college was recognized by U.S. News and World Report as an institution in the top tier of the Best Regional Colleges list and ranked second among regional colleges nationwide for outperforming its anticipated graduation rate. For more information visit www.morrisville.edu.

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