ALFRED, NY - A strong defensive effort from the Alfred University women's basketball team resulted in a 71-47 win over SUNY Cobleskill on Friday evening from the Terry S. Galanis Family Arena. 
 
The Saxons (1-0) forced a total of 35 turnovers, while limiting the Fighting Tigers (0-1) to 17-of-60 from the field. 
 
"We want to be aggressive in everything we do," Head Coach Mike Moskowitz said. "We knew coming in that we needed to limit their post opportunities and so we wanted them to press and speed them up right out of the gate. When they did get it inside, we did an alright job working to get it out, but they have some talented players that still hurt us a bit. We were rushing a bit early on and taking some good shots, when we could've easily worked to get some great shots. When our shots aren't falling, we know our aggressive defense can buy us some time to get in our groove."
 
Senior guard Allison O'Toole (Simi Valley, CA/Simi Valley) led the Saxons with 11 points to go along with five assists and four rebounds. Junior guard Ana Ion (Bucharest, Romania/Episcopal School of Jacksonville) compiled five points to go with a team-high nine rebounds. Junior guard Briana Broadwell (Franklinville, NY/Ten Broeck Academy) finished with 10 points. Senior guard Gillian Flint (Caledonia-Mumford) and sophomore guard Leah Harkenrider (Hornell, NY/Hornell) each forced a team-high five steals. 
 
Alfred University set the pace offensively in the opening quarter, attempting 19 shots from the field. Broadwell led the team with six points in the quarter, while six different Saxons recorded a steal to force an early 15-10 lead. AU expanded their lead in the second quarter, as multiple baskets from Broadwell, Flint, and O'Toole allowed the Saxons to score a team-high 24 points before entering halftime with a 39-25 lead.  
 
"I thought we did a great job in that second quarter, sparked by Becky's aggressive take to push the lead to seven points with under four minutes left," Moskowitz said. "I also believe Bri consistently provides us with a great defensive spark, and we are so happy for her that she hit some big shots in that first half."
 
The Fighters Tigers found momentum in the third quarter, compiling a quick 8-2 run to cut AU's lead down to seven points. Successful shots from junior guard Rebecca Jewett (Nyack, NY/Nyack) and sophomore guard Karly Welty (Portville, NY/Portville Central) gave the Saxons a 49-41 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Saxons defense stepped up in the final quarter, limiting SUNY Cobleskill to six points to secure the win. 
 
"We are excited to get in the classroom tomorrow morning," Moskowitz said. "We will watch some film and see how we can improve and begin to prepare a game plan for Oswego on Tuesday."
 
The Saxons will remain at home to host Oswego State on Tuesday with a start time of 7:00 PM.