BUFFALO, N.Y.—Buffalo State (6-6, 3-3 SUNYAC) used free throws late to cement a 56-51 victory over the SUNY Potsdam women's basketball team (8-4, 3-3) on Tuesday afternoon. Junior forward
Jakia Howard (Syracuse, N.Y./Nottingham) led the Bears with 19 points and eight rebounds. Junior guard
Dyamon Hunter (Bronx, N.Y./Thurgood Marshall Academy) added 13 points and four assists.
Potsdam opened the contest on a 6-2 stretch with a layup from Hunter and back-to-back jumpers from Howard. However, the Bengals closed the quarter with a 14-5 run and led 16-11 after 10 minutes. Tashawni Cornfield and Katie Villarini led the Buffalo State charge with five points apiece and Howard finished the quarter with six points for Potsdam.
Riley Domin hit a three with 6:17 left in the second to give the Bengals their biggest lead of the half at 19-13. The Bears then started to click offensively. Howard started a 19-7 run with a layup at 5:32. Hunter put the Bears back on top 23-22 with 3:38 left in the half with a 3-pointer. Junior forward
Mandy Barnell (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) scored on a layup with 14 seconds remaining and sent Potsdam into the break up 32-26. Hunter scored seven points during the quarter and Howard added five to her total.
The Bengals raced out of the gate on a 13-0 run. Cornfield scored at 6:19 to put Buffalo State up 39-32. Villarini scored at 4:32 to make it a 41-34 game. Junior forward
Alyson Crosby (Brier Hill, N.Y./Hammond) scored on a layup at 2:18 and junior guard
Madison McCormick (Heuvelton, N.Y./Heuvelton) hit a three at the buzzer and Potsdam was down just 42-39 after three quarters.
Hunter opened the final quarter with a layup to get the Bears within 42-41, but the Bengals slowly increased their lead again. Zavia Jaime hit a floating jumper at 5:29 and Buffalo State led 48-42. Sophomore guard
Caroline LaFountain (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) scored on a layup at 4:37 and Hunter closed the gap to 48-46 with two free throws with 2:20 remaining. After Domin extended Buffalo State's lead to 50-46 with 27 seconds on the clock, Howard was fouled. She hit her first, but missed the second. Fortunately, Potsdam got the rebound and Howard scored to close the gap to 50-49 with 20 seconds left. Buffalo State then closed out the win from the free-throw line, making their last six shots for the 56-51 victory.
Cornfield led the Bengals with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Villarini had 14 points and 11 boards. Adiya Jones finished with 11 points and six rebounds and Domin had 10 points on the afternoon.
The Bears head to Fredonia tomorrow for a noon matchup with the Blue Devils.
