Box Score The SUNY Potsdam women's basketball team was unable to overcome a slow start Tuesday in an 86-44 defeat at William Smith in a non-conference contest at Geneva, N.Y.

After scoring the first points of the game, the Bears (1-8 overall) endured a nine-minute span without a field goal, allowing William Smith to take a commanding 18-2 advantage with 14:21 to play in the opening half. Senior captain Aimee Kellicutt (Lisle, N.Y.) snapped the field goal drought with a 3-pointer at the 10:08 mark.

The Herons (5-6) extended their lead to 47-11 with 24 seconds left in the opening frame after back-to-back 3-pointers and didn't look back.

William Smith shot 45.2 percent in the first half and out-rebounded the Bears 50-29 for the contest.

“William Smith shot lights-out in the first half,” Potsdam coach Tara Ruckh said. “We tried to increase our defensive pressure but we couldn't hit shots on the offensive end. We kind of had our feet in cement blocks in the first half.”

Freshman Jessica Kouzan (Webster, N.Y.) scored 11 points off the bench to lead Potsdam, which shot a much-improved 43.3 percent in the second half after shooting 17.4 percent in the first. Kellicutt and fellow senior captain Brittany Whitton (DeKalb, N.Y.) added nine points apiece.

“We did a better job overall in the second half, but William Smith hit the offensive glass hard throughout the game and scored 25 points off our turnovers,” Ruckh said.

Potsdam resumes State University of New York Athletic Conference play at home this Friday, Jan. 7, against Brockport. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at Jerry Welsh Gymnasium.