PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The SUNY Potsdam women's basketball team (1-0) handle Wesleyan University (0-1) 72-68 in overtime to secure their first win of the season in the opening matchup of the Plattsburgh Cardinal Classic. Senior guard
Dyamon Hunter (Bronx, N.Y./Thurgood Marshall Academy) put on a scoring clinic registering 30 points while shooting 55% from the field. With this performance, Hunter is now only 19 points away from elapsing 1,000 points for her career.
After falling behind 6-2 to start the opening quarter, the Bears ended up tying the game 6-6 with 5:57 left to go. Hunter scored four out of the six points in that run. Despite the Bears efforts, the Cardinals kept their foot on the pedal going on a 12-6 run, hitting four threes in that stretch. Wesleyan held a 18-12 lead at the end of one.
To start the second quarter, at 8:51, Hunter nailed a three-pointer to cut the Cardinals lead to three. Both teams continued to trade baskets in a see-saw battle until sophomore guard
Carley Hill (Essex, Vt./Rice Memorial) drained a three to spark a 5-0 Potsdam run late in the quarter. With 35 seconds remaining, Hunter managed to grab her own missed layup and quickly put it back up, trimming the Cardinals lead to four. Wesleyan took a 32-26 lead into the break.
Despite being down 41-32 at the 6:19 mark of the third quarter, the Bears continued to claw back into this game. At 4:55, junior guard
Caroline LaFountain (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) scored two quick points for the Bears. Less than a minute later, sophomore guard
Mikayla Shipley (North Chili, N.Y./Churchville-Chili) was fouled and went to the line for two. She split at the free-throw line, cutting the Cardinals lead to eight midway through the third. At 1:35, sophomore guard
Xy'El Bradford (Syracuse, N.Y./Syracuse Academy of Science) swished two key free throws to continue chipping away at the Cardinals lead. The momentum began to shift in Potsdam's favor when junior guard
Bella Barner (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) knocked in a huge three-pointer to keep Wesleyan at bay. The Cardinals continued to hold the lead going into the final quarter.
Coming out of the break, the Bears went on a 12-4 run to tie the game 54-54 with 5:28 left in the quarter. At 4:49, senior forward
Jakia Howard (Syracuse, N.Y./Nottingham) nailed one of two free throws to give the Bears their first lead of the game 55-54. After continuing to trade baskets through the final quarter, Wesleyan took a one-point lead with 41 seconds remaining. With 24 seconds to go, Hunter went to the line to tie or take the lead. She split at the line, tying the game 60-60. As the clock ticked down, LaFountain had one last chance to seal the win but missed a buzzer beating three to send the game to overtime.
Both teams continued to fight tooth and nail right down to the wire. With 1:40 remaining in overtime, Hunter made a layup to put the Bears up 68-65. However, the Cardinals did not back down as they drained two free throws to trim Potsdam's lead to one with 33 seconds left. With the Bears having possession of the ball, the Cardinals had no choice but to foul and send Hunter to the line. She hit both, extending the Potsdam lead 71-68 with 30 seconds remaining. Wesleyan had one final chance to score and was unable to capitalize on the opportunity, sending senior forward
Mandy Barnell (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) to the line for two more. Barnell hit one, further extending the Potsdam lead to four and sealing the victory for the Bears.
LaFountain ended the night with eight points and four rebounds while Howard chipped in seven points and five rebounds. Potsdam forced 17 turnovers while holding the Cardinals to 32% from the field.
The Bears are back in action tomorrow when they face-off against SUNY Cobleskill at 1 p.m. to wrap up the Plattsburgh Cardinal Classic.
