POTSDAM, N.Y.—SUNY Oneonta (5-1, 1-0 SUNYAC) rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit to defeat the SUNY Potsdam women's basketball team (1-4, 0-1 SUNYAC) 54-43 on Friday night at Jerry Welsh Gymnasium. Senior captain
Bailey Weigel (East Amherst, N.Y./Williamsville East) scored a game-high 16 points to lead the Bears. Junior guard Caysea Cohen (Stony Brook, N.Y./Ward Melville) led the Red Dragons with 15 points and seven boards, while senior center Sarah Longto (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) added 11 points and five rebounds.
The Bears never trailed in the first half, as both teams' offenses were slow to emerge. Senior captain
Carli Reynolds (Indian Lake, N.Y./Indian Lake) hit a 3-pointer to open the scoring. After Longto answered with a layup, the Bears went on a 14-2 run to build a 17-4 lead. Junior forward
Katie LaVoie (Malone, N.Y./Franklin Academy) hit two shots in the stretch with the most dramatic coming at 11:11. LaVoie chased down a loose ball near midcourt with the shot clock nearly expired. She then turned and launched a half court three to deflate Oneonta. After another Longto layup, Weigel hit two straight field goals to give Potsdam its biggest lead of the game at 21-6. The Red Dragons chipped away with a 12-4 finished to the half, but the Bears took a 25-18 lead into the locker room.
Potsdam withstood the Oneonta charge for nearly the first 10 minutes of the final half, but a free throw from freshman forward Jillian Davis (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury) tied the score at 35-all with 10:03 left. A layup from junior guard Bryn Loomis (Norwich, N.Y./Norwich) gave Oneonta a 37-35 lead and they never trailed again. A Cohen bucket at 7:01 capped a 12-0 run for the Red Dragons and put them up 43-35. The gap expanded to 50-47 with 35 seconds left and Oneonta went on to the 11-point victory.
Reynolds totaled eight points for Potsdam and LaVoie and senior captain
Veronica Sapp (Potsdam, N.Y./Potsdam) each contributed five points.
Junior guard Lyteshia Price (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) posted nine points for the Red Dragons and Loomis finished with six points, six boards and five assists.
The Bears are back in action tomorrow afternoon when they host SUNY New Paltz at 4 p.m.
