BUFFALO, N.Y. - Cortland fought back from a nine-point third-quarter deficit and the Red Dragons pulled away in the closing minutes for a 62-53 victory at Buffalo State in SUNYAC women's basketball action. Cortland won its fourth straight game to run its record to 4-4 overall and 4-0 in the conference.

Kristy Vitucci (Deer Park) led four Cortland double-digit scorers with 18 points and added six rebounds. She was 5-of-9 from the floor and perfect on her eight free throw attempts. Kerry McHugh (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury) scored 10 of her 15 points in the second half and grabbed a career-high five rebounds.

Shana Crespo (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury) scored 12 points, pulled down a team-high and career-high 13 rebounds, and matched her career best with three steals. Justine Crespo (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury) finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high three blocks, and Taylor Miller (Freeport) handed out three assists and matched her career high with seven rebounds.

Liv LeBaron and Jenna Faulkner led Buffalo State (5-5, 2-2 SUNYAC) with 14 points each. Grace Licata added 10 points and Lay Knight registered game highs of 15 rebounds and five steals.

Cortland trailed 15-11 after one quarter despite taking an early 6-0 lead, and the Red Dragons fell behind 27-21 at halftime after shooting just 28 percent from the field (1-of-9 from 3-point range) in the opening 20 minutes.

The second half was a different story, however, as Cortland shot 46 percent from the field to finish the game at 36 percent accuracy. The guests fought their way back to eventually tie the game at 38-38 with 2:53 left in the third on a 3-pointer by J. Crespo, and her 3-pointer with 20 seconds left put Cortland ahead 42-41 entering the final 10 minutes.

Buffalo State took its final lead at 46-45 on a Faulkner free throw with 5:51 remaining, but J. Crespo quickly responded with a layup to put Cortland back on top, and McHugh buried a 3-pointer on the next possession to extend the lead to four with 5:10 left.

The Bengals closed a six-point deficit to two at 52-50 on Knight's layup with 2:03 on the clock. Miller hit a layup with 1:48 left to push the margin to four and, following a turnover, McHugh sank the first of two free throws with 1:38 left to make it a five-point game at 55-50.

Buffalo State missed shots on its next three possessions. McHugh made one free throw with 44 seconds left and two charity tosses with 31 seconds left to give Cortland a 58-50 advantage. Vitucci made four free throws in the final 21 seconds to salt away the win, with Licata creating the final score with a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Cortland will be idle for final exam week before hosting SUNY Poly on Saturday at noon in a non-league contest.