POTSDAM, N.Y. – A strong third quarter performance propelled SUNY Cortland (8-1, 5-0 SUNYAC) past the SUNY Potsdam women's basketball team (3-5, 2-3) by a score of 60-44 on Sunday afternoon. Senior forward Jakia Howard (Syracuse, N.Y./Nottingham) paced the Bears with 13 points along with eight rebounds. Sophomore forward Jenna Cotter (Johnson City, N.Y./Susquehanna Valley) chipped in nine points with eight rebounds to compliment her teammate.
 
The Red Dragons started the first quarter on a 6-0 run led by senior guard Emily Morano (Olyphant, Pa./Mid Valley) who scored two layups. The Bears quickly answered back with a three-pointer from senior guard Dyamon Hunter (Bronx, N.Y./Thurgood Marshall Academy) resulting in a 6-3 advantage for the Red Dragons. With five minutes remaining in the first quarter, Hunter found Howard down low for two points. A few plays later sophomore guard Xy'El Bradford (Syracuse, N.Y./Syracuse Academy of Science) located Cotter who bullied her way into the paint for two more. The Red Dragons still led the Bears 11-7. The momentum began to shift in Potsdam's favor when they routed a 6-0 run of their own to trail the Red Dragons by two at the end of the first quarter.
 
Sophomore guard Mikayla Shipley (North Chili, N.Y./Churchville-Chili) came off the bench and nailed a three to start the second quarter and help the Bears take their first lead of the game 16-15. After a back-and-forth battle between the two teams, senior forward Mandy Barnell (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) passed the ball to Howard who quickly turned and banked it off the glass to tie the game at 21 with 4:51 remaining. At 3:43, Potsdam continued to work the ball around the perimeter until they found Hunter open for her second three-pointer of the game to put the Bears back on top by two. Potsdam's defense only allowed four points for the remainder of the quarter as the Bears took a 31-28 advantage into halftime.
 
The Red Dragons began to pull away midway through the third quarter. Senior forward Sarah Tully (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) made a go-ahead layup at 6:14 remaining to put Cortland back up by two. Two plays later, Morano scored a jumper to extend the Red Dragons lead to four. In the final three minutes of the quarter both Cotter and sophomore guard Carley Hill (Essex, Vt./Rice Memorial) hit a pair of free throws to trim the Cortland lead 40-39. The Red Dragons grasped the momentum from this point forward as Cortland routed an 8-0 run to take a 48-39 lead after three.
 
Cortland never looked back once the final quarter commenced. At 6:23, junior forward Corinne Miedreich (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River) scored a layup to extend the Red Dragons lead by 11. In a last-ditch comeback effort, Howard secured the offensive board and passed the ball back out to Hill who nailed the trifecta to put the Bears within striking distance. Cortland's hot shooting continued to stifle Potsdam as they held on to secure the win.
 
Hunter scored eight points while Hill and Shipley both tallied five points each to round out the Bears offense.
 
Morano led the Red Dragons with 18 points. Tully managed 14 points while Miedreich and senior forward Maggie Malone (Cornwall, N.Y./Cornwall) had 10 points apiece.
 
With her eight points, Hunter (1064) is now 29 points behind Karen Burns '90 for second on the program's scoring list.
 
The Bears are now off until Dec. 28th when they travel to face King's College and Emmanuel College in Daytona Beach as part of the Florida Sunshine Shootout.