Laing stifles O-State women

In her fourth college game, South Kortright graduate Laing quietly earned her fourth straight double-double to lead Cortland State to a 70-62 women’s basketball victory over Oneonta in the SUNY Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

From putbacks to penetration layups to a three-point bankshot from the top of the key, Laing scored in just about every way imaginable to finish with a game-high 28 points. Laing complemented the best scoring performance of her freshman season with 10 rebounds, which is three shy of her top total this year.

"I knew that she was going to be good," Cortland coach Jeannette Yeoman said of Laing, who led South Kortright to the Class D state championship in girls basketball last season. Laing also earned player of the year honors from the state and The Daily Star after averaging an area-best 25.6 points as a senior. "I think what really surprises me about her is the fact that this is her fourth consecutive game as a freshman and her fourth consecutive double-double _ and she goes about it quietly.

"To look down and see that she had 28 points, you want to know where that came from," she continued. "Then again, that’s just somebody who’s doing all the work. We were fortunate to get her. She was going to help any team, and we’re just glad it’s going to be us for the next four years."

Laing paced Cortland (3-1) in the first half with 11 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the floor and a 1-for-2 effort at the free-throw line. She also had all three of her steals in a back-and-forth first half that ended with Maggie Byrne sinking a half-court heave off the backboard for a 30-27 Cortland lead.

Laing then scored 26 seconds into the second half, banking in a short, baseline jumper from the left side that prompted O-State coach Dan McGraw to call a timeout.

"Even though we were trading baskets (in the first half), I thought we came out flat defensively," said McGraw, whose team fell to 3-2. "Defensively, we were not[an error occurred while processing this directive]

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as aggressive. The intensity I didn’t feel was there that we’ve shown in the first four games. I kind of felt that we can’t have them get a run. I felt the run was coming and I thought we were still flat coming out for the second half."

Laing’s shot sparked a 14-2 Cortland run that she capped with her third consecutive basket _ a three-point banker from the top of the key that resulted in a look of disgust as she trotted back on defense.

"She’s not flashy," McGraw said. "She lets the game come to her. Even the tapes that I’ve seen when I was scouting them, she was the same way. She was the leading scorer, she did it quietly and you never knew she was the leading scorer. She lets the game come to her and she doesn’t try to do more than she’s capable of doing."

Oxford graduate Sara Chrystie ended an O-State field-goal drought that spanned 5 minutes, 32 seconds with an uncontested jumper from the foul line to cut Cortland’s advantage to 44-31.

Byrne followed with her fourth three-pointer, which rolled around the rim before it dropped in, then hit the last of her five threes with 11:42 to play for a 52-35 lead.

Kerri Swails then scored from the right wing, ending a 3-minute stretch without a field goal for Oneonta, which then went the next 5:29 without scoring from the floor. Cortland padded its lead with two free throws and an inside basket from Laing for its biggest advantage, at 56-37.

"I definitely learned a lot my first couple of weeks," said Laing, a high school guard whose shift to the inside at Cortland has placed her among the top-five scorers in the SUNYAC. "I fit right in (here) and I feel comfortable. Now, I just go out and do what I can to help."

Sophomore Shannon Weir, the 2003 Daily Star Player of the Year out of Milford, helped fuel an Oneonta comeback that started with two free throws by Chrystie with 7:32 to play. Weir had five of her 11 points _ including a three-point play that drew a foul on Laing _ during a 14-2 run that pulled Oneonta within 58-51 with 4:23 to go.

Laing put Cortland back up by nine by converting both of her 1-and-1 opportunities with 3:38 to go, contributing to an 8-for-10 effort from the line down the stretch to seal it.

"I think it was a 14-2 (Cortland) run to start the second half, which really probably decided the game at that point," McGraw said. "We dug ourselves a hole that we couldn’t get out of."

Laing finished 10-for-13 from the floor and 7-for-10 at the foul line for her best scoring performance this season by 10 points. She also had nine more points than Byrne, Cortland’s only other double-digit scorer.

"Jess played awesome today," said Weir, the 2005-06 SUNYAC Rookie of the Year who matched Christi Podgorski for team-high scoring honors. "I expected her to play the way she did today.

"She’s home, half of her school’s here, everyone’s here to support her _ that’s how she should play and that’s how she’s capable of playing," Weir continued. "That doesn’t surprise me at all about Jess, nope. I’ve played with her before. She’s a great player."

Cortland 70, O-State 62

CORTLAND (3-1, 1-0): Jessica Laing 10-13 7-10 28, Maggie Byrne 5-10 4-6 19, Ali Canale 4-5 0-0 8, Sara Cavanaugh 3-9 1-3 7, Andrea Wilkinson 3-6 0-2 6, Brittany Martin 0-3 2-2 2, Kerry Costello 0-0 0-0 0, Brie Simmons 0-1 0-0 0, Erin Dabe 0-4 0-0 0, Kristin Ciccone 0-3 0-0 0. TOTALS: 25-54 14-23 70.

ONEONTA STATE (3-2, 0-1): Christi Podgorski 5-13 0-2 11, Shannon Weir 2-11 7-7 11, Melissa Donohue 3-10 4-6 10, Amanda McDowell 3-5 2-4 9. Sara Chrystie 1-4 4-4 6, Kristin Ploettner 3-4 0-0 6, Kerri Swails 2-6 1-4 5, Alicia Ellis 1-4 0-0 2, Megan Bucci 1-5 0-0 2, Paige Harris 0-0 0-0 0, Billie Lynn Kolb 0-2 0-0 0, Marion Casey 0-0 0-0 0, Casey Snyder 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 21-64 18-27 62.

Halftime: Cortland, 30-27. Three-point field goals: C 6-12 (Byrne 5-6, Laing 1-1, Cavanaugh 0-3, Martin 0-1, Simmons 0-1; O 2-15 (Podgorski 1-5, McDowell 1-3, Swails 0-1, Ellis 0-2, Kolb 0-1, Weir 0-3). Rebounds: C 44 (Laing 10); O 35 (Weir 8). Assists: C 14 (Byrne 7); O 12 (Ploettner 3). Total fouls: C 20; O 16.

A _ 532.

___

Dean Russin can be reached at drussin@thedailystar.com or 607-432-1000, ext. 215.