FREDONIA, N.Y.—Fredonia (8-7, 3-5 SUNYAC) used a big fourth surge quarter to defeat the SUNY Potsdam women's basketball team (8-5, 3-4) 75-61 on Wednesday afternoon. Junior guard
Dyamon Hunter (Bronx, N.Y./Thurgood Marshall Academy) led the Bears with 21 points.
The teams swapped leads over the first six minutes of the contest, but the Blue Devils finished the quarter on a 12-7 run to take the lead for good. Hunter had six points in the first 10 minutes, while junior forward
Alyson Crosby (Brier Hill, N.Y./Hammond) and sophomore guard
Bella Barner (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) each scored five.
Fredonia extended its lead in the second quarter, outscoring Potsdam 19-11. A Hunter basketball got the Bears within 35-30 at 4:04, but the Blue Devils scored the last eight of the half and took a 43-30 lead into the break.
Potsdam rallied in the third quarter and nearly overtook the hosts. After Fredonia increased its lead to 47-30, the Bears finally stormed back with a 15-2 run in a five-minute span. Hunter started the burst with two free throws. Five different Bears scored during the run that got Potsdam within 49-45, but Hunter led the charge again with five points. Fredonia stemmed the tide with a 7-1 answer and built its lead back to 56-46 at 1:24. Fortunately, with a layup from freshman guard
Xy'El Bradford (Syracuse, N.Y./Syracuse Academy of Science) and four consecutive free throws from Hunter and junior guard
Madison McCormick (Heuvelton, N.Y./Heuvelton) Potsdam trailed by just four, 56-52, after 30 minutes.
A Bradford free throw to open the fourth quarter made it a three-point contest. However, Fredonia then put the game away with a 13-0 run and led 69-53 with 4:27 left. The Blue Devils then closed out the win by making six of their last eight free throws.
Barner finished with eight points and McCormick, Crosby and junior forward
Jakia Howard (Syracuse, N.Y./Nottingham) each scored six. Crosby also had a game-high eight rebounds.
Katie Pitcher paced Fredonia 19 points. Lauren Mickley scored 15 with six rebounds and Renee Park had 14 points and seven boards.
The two teams meet up again at 2 p.m. on Saturday in Jerry Welsh Gymnasium.
