POTSDAM, N.Y.—After trailing big early, the SUNY Potsdam women's basketball team (12-10, 7-9 SUNYAC) took SUNY Geneseo (15-8, 11-5) to the wire before falling 56-53. Junior guard
Dyamon Hunter (Bronx, N.Y./Thurgood Marshall Academy) led the Bears with 15 points and six assists. Junior guard
Caroline LaFountain (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) scored 10 points. Prior to the game, Potsdam honored its lone senior, forward
Alyson Crosby (Brier Hill, N.Y./Hammond), on Senior Day.
Another slow first quarter start saw the Bears down 12-2 nearly six minutes into the contest. A 7-3 answer got Potsdam back into the contest at 15-9 after 10 minutes. Potsdam had four different Bears with a bucket in the first quarter.
Geneseo slowly extended its lead in the second quarter. LaFountain and freshman forward
Jenna Cotter (Johnson City, N.Y./Johnson City) each scored on layups to get the Bears within four early, but a 7-0 run from the Knights made it 24-13 at 6:56. Knights freshman forward Mackenzie Reigle (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia) hit a three during the stretch. Geneseo junior guard Taylor Hansen (Norwich, N.Y./Norwich) scored at 2:13 and the Knights led 29-15. LaFountain countered with a three at 1:56 to make it an 11-point deficit. Sophomore guard Kiley Snow (Whitesboro, N.Y./Whitesboro) hit two free throws with three seconds left and Geneseo took a 31-18 advantage into the break.
An 8-0 run, featuring a three from Hunter got Potsdam within 33-26 at 6:58 of the third quarter. However, Geneseo scored the next six in-a-row to rebuild its double-digit lead at 39-26 a minute and a half later. Back-to-back threes from freshmen guards
Mikayla Shipley (North Chili, N.Y./Churchville-Chili) and
Xy'El Bradford (Syracuse, N.Y./Syracuse Academy of Science) kept Potsdam in the contest at 41-34 with 1:56 left in the third. The Bears continued to attack as time wound down. Hunter started a 7-0 run with a long jumper at 1:18. She followed with a layup and a free throw on a 3-point play. Bradford then hit two free throws with 10 seconds left to make it 42-41. Snow drained a three at the buzzer and Geneseo led 45-41 after 30 minutes. Hunter scored 10 points in the quarter.
Potsdam stayed within striking distance in the fourth quarter. A layup from senior forward Megan Roell (Montgomery, N.Y./Valley Central) gave the Knights their biggest lead of the last 10 minutes at 51-44 with 6:40 to play. The Bears scored the next seven and a layup from Crosby tied the game at 51 with 2:38 to play. With momentum tipping against them, junior guard Hannah Stockman (Northport, N.Y./Northport) hit a clutch three at 1:49 to make it 54-51. With 57 seconds remaining, junior guard
Madison McCormick (Heuvelton, N.Y./Heuvelton) hit a jumper to make it a one point contest. The teams then traded turnovers. Stockman made it 56-53 with 19 seconds remaining after hitting two free throws. After another turnover, Stockman was fouled again, but missed both free throws. Crosby hauled in the rebound and Potsdam called timeout. Out of the timeout, Crosby just missed a 3-pointer and time expired.
Reigle led the Knights with 12 points and eight assists. Snow finished with 10 points and nine boards. Hansen had 10 points and Roell contributed nine points and seven boards.
The Bears head to Oneonta State on Friday for a 5:30 contest with the Red Dragons.
