| Linfield athletics file photo by Kelly Bird |
The Linfield women’s basketball team won the Northwest Conference title for the first time since 1980, while the SUNY New Paltz men rallied from seven down in the last 75 seconds to clinch a first-round home game in the SUNYAC tournament.
The Wildcats (21-3, 14-1 NWC) clinched the outright Northwest Conference regular-season title with an 87-59 win over the Lewis & Clark River Otters (6-18, 3-12). Allie Mead, Miki Vermeulen and Skylar Willey led the charge with 12 points, while Willey’s earned her a double-double thanks to 11 rebounds. On senior night, the team’s eight seniors combined for 59 of the 87 points as well. “I’m so incredibly proud of this group and the hear they’ve been playing with all season,” said Linfield coach Casey Bunn-Wilson after also capturing her first NWC title in her 11th season at the helm of the program. “They play so hard for each other and it’s really special to see. To have us win this game on senior night is even more special knowing what this senior class has battled through and how far they have come since their freshman season.”
In men’s action, Plattsburgh was just 1.2 seconds away from pulling off the comeback against visiting SUNY New Paltz. The officials reviewed the clock before the final possession and changed the clock from .3 to 1.2 seconds as New Paltz inbounded underneath its own basket. Patiently waiting two full seconds, Thomas Keane inbounded the ball out to fellow LaMar Matthews from behind the 3-point line and calmly, with a man running out with a hand in his face, perfectly let go of a high-arcing shot that swished through the hoop as the buzzer sounded to give the Hawks an 80-79 win.
“Honestly, I had no thoughts going through my head in that moment,” Matthews said. “Once it left my hand it felt really good and sure enough, it dropped man.”
The victory clinched SUNY New Paltz the series sweep of the Cardinals (12-11 overall, 9-8 SUNYAC) and pushed its record back to .500 at 12-12 overall and 10-7 in the SUNYAC, clinching the No. 4 seed in the SUNYAC Tournament with still a game to go, guaranteeing one last game in the Hawk Center.
“It means everything to be able to play at the Hawk Center one last time, especially being a senior,” Matthews said. “I’m glad we get to play one more in front of our home crowd and hopefully we can get one last win there as well.”
SUNY New Paltz led for most of the contest and held a lead as large as 18 in the first half following a make from behind the perimeter from Mo Sylla, which extended the advantage to 34-16 with nine minutes left. Plattsburgh worked its way back and ended the half on an 18-8 run from that point forward to trim the deficit to eight entering the second period of play.
LAMAR MATTHEWS BUZZER BEATER ��
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vc: courtesy of @PlattsAthletics pic.twitter.com/Ssg7QANxZp— New Paltz Hawks (@nphawks) February 21, 2026