POTSDAM, N.Y.—SUNY Cortland (10-2, 6-0 SUNYAC) held off the SUNY Potsdam women's basketball team (8-3, 3-2 SUNYAC) for most of the contest before pulling away for a 64-55 win late on Friday afternoon. Junior guard
Madison McCormick (Heuvelton, N.Y./Heuvelton) led the Bears with 17 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Freshman guard
Xy'El Bradford (Syracuse, N.Y./Syracuse Academy of Science) had 10 points, five boards and two assists.
Cortland used an 10-2 run to grab a 14-6 lead with 1:48 left in the first quarter, but Potsdam battled back. McCormick hit two free throws, Bradford scored on a layup and sophomore guard
Bella Barner (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) drilled a three with seconds left. The Bears trailed just 17-13 after 10 minutes.
A 7-1 burst to start the second quarter, capped by a three from graduate student guard Shannon McGuire (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon), put the Red Dragons back up by eight at 24-16 with 7:06 left in the half. Again Cortland couldn't shake Potsdam. McCormick scored four points and Bradford hit a three as Potsdam outscored the Red Dragons 11-8 over the rest of quarter and trailed 32-27 at the break.
A fast start to the third quarter, including a three from McCormick got the Bears within 32-31 at 8:19. Junior forward Maggie Malone (Cornwall, N.Y./Cornwall) answered with a three and a fast break layup to make it 37-31 at 7:04. With Potsdam struggling to stay close again, junior guard
Dyamon Hunter (Bronx, N.Y./Thurgood Marshall Academy) hit a badly needed 3-pointer at 6:01 to make the score 39-36. Cortland then constructed a 10-4 run to lead 49-40 at 2:03, but again Potsdam had a 7-2 answer. McCormick ignited the burst again with a three and Barner hit a jumper with 18 seconds left and Potsdam trailed 51-47 after three quarters.
A jumper from McCormick with 7:50 left in the contest had Potsdam down just 52-51. However they could get no closer. Back-to-back layups from Malone and junior forward Nyia Longford (Medford, N.Y./Longwood) made it a five-point contest with 6:05 left. Cortland closed the game with an 8-4 run, with six points coming from the free throw line.
Sophomore guard
Caroline LaFountain (Saratoga, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) had seven points, five rebounds and two steals for Potsdam. Hunter finished with seven points as well.
Malone led the Red Dragons with 19 points. Junior guard Sarah Tully (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) had 16 points and a game-high seven rebounds. Longford added 11 points and five boards and McGuire finished with eight points.
The Bears now head to Buffalo State for a Monday night contest at 5:30 p.m. On Tuesday, they square off with Fredonia at 2 p.m.
