POTSDAM, N.Y.— Sophomore guard
Caroline LaFountain (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) hit a long jumper at the buzzer as the SUNY Potsdam women's basketball team (8-2, 3-1 SUNYAC) rallied to defeat Oswego State (3-8, 0-5) 65-64 on Thursday evening. Junior guard
Dyamon Hunter (Bronx, N.Y./Thurgood Marshall Academy) and junior forward
Jakia Howard (Syracuse, N.Y./Nottingham) each led the Bears with 15 points, while junior guard
Madison McCormick (Heuvelton, N.Y./Heuvelton) and LaFountain each scored 10.
Hunter, LaFountain, and junior forward
Alyson Crosby (Brier Hill, N.Y./Hammond) staked Potsdam to a 6-2 lead 2:55 into the contest. A 3-pointer from senior guard Raven Encarnacion (Newburgh, N.Y./Beacon) and two free throws gave the Lakers a brief 7-6 lead. Howard scored with a layup at 5:52 to regain the lead and spark a 14-4 run. McCormick hit two threes during the run and Hunter had another. A free throw from Hunter at 1:55 made it a 20-11 contest. The Bears led 20-14 after one.
Oswego senior guard Danielle Caivana (Frankford, N.Y./Frankfort Schuyler) opened the second quarter with a three to close to within 20-17 at 8:14. The Bears answered with a 9-3 stretch to open its biggest lead of the half at 29-20. Hunter converted on a 3-point play opportunity to start the run and Howard hit back-to-back layups. Freshman forward Diamond Pickett (Rochester, N.Y./East) hit a jumper at 2:14 to get the Lakers back within 31-26, but Potsdam scored the final three points of the half and took a 34-26 lead into the break. Howard had five points and freshman forward
Jenna Cotter (Johnson City, N.Y./Susquehanna Valley) scored four during the second quarter.
The Bears started quickly in the third quarter. Crosby and Howard scored the first six points of the period to make it 40-26 at 7:46. Another Crosby layup restored the 14-point advantage at 45-31 with 5:31 to play. However, the Laker charge finally came. Oswego closed the quarter with a 12-2 run and trailed 47-43 after 30 minutes. Senior guard Logan Castiglione (Waterloo, N.Y./Waterloo) scored five points during the burst and Caivana hit another three.
The Lakers stayed hot to open the fourth. Caivana hit consecutive threes to put Oswego back in front 49-47 at 8:19. The contest stayed tight the rest of the way. Hunter made the most of a three-point play to tie the score at 53-53 at 5:10, but Pickett countered with another three 41 seconds later. Howard and LaFountain scored on consecutive possessions to put the Bears back on top 57-56 with 3:46 left. Howard collected an offensive rebound at 3:03 and scored to make it 60-57. Oswego continued to chip away. With two seconds remaining, Caivana buried another 3-pointer to give the Lakers a 64-63 lead. After each team called a timeout, LaFountain caught the inbound pass in the corner in front of her own bench and drained a long two for the victory. She was then buried in a pile of her teammates.
Hunter also contributed eight assists and Howard had nine rebounds. Crosby also just missed a double-double with nine points and game-high 11 boards.
Caivana led the Lakers with 23 points and six assists and Pickett finished with 20 points and seven rebounds.
Potsdam is back in action tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. when first place SUNY Cortland invades Jerry Welsh Gymnasium.
