CORTLAND, N.Y.—First place SUNY Cortland (17-2, 13-0 SUNYAC) wrested the lead away from the SUNY Potsdam women's basketball team (11-8, 6-7) in the third quarter and pulled away for a 72-51 win on Saturday afternoon. Junior guard
Dyamon Hunter (Bronx, N.Y./Thurgood Marshall Academy) and junior forward
Jakia Howard (Syracuse, N.Y./Nottingham) each scored 12 points to lead the Bears.
Each team traded slim leads in the first quarter. A 3-pointer from sophomore guard
Caroline LaFountain (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) at 6:06 gave Potsdam a 7-4 lead. Cortland answered with an 11-4 run and a Shannon McGuire three put the Red Dragons up 15-11 with 1:50 left. Cortland was up 15-12 after 10 minutes. LaFountain had five points in the quarter.
Sarah Tully scored as the second quarter began to give the Red Dragons their biggest lead of the half at 17-12. Potsdam then surged in front with a 9-0 run. Hunter capped the run with a three and a layup and Potsdam led 21-17 at 6:04. Freshman guard
Mikayla Shipley (North Chili, N.Y./Churchville-Chili) scored on a layup at 3:01 to give the Bears a 25-21 lead. Cortland stayed on Potsdam's heels, but the Bears took a 27-25 lead into the break. Hunter had seven points for the Bears in the second quarter.
After the Red Dragons briefly erased Potsdam's lead with back-to-back 3-pointers, Howard tied the game and junior forward
Alyson Crosby (Brier Hill, N.Y./Hammond) gave the Bears a 36-34 advantage at 5:10 with a 3-point play. However, Cortland caught fire and pulled away, finishing the quarter with a 17-5 flourish. The Red Dragons led 52-41 after three quarters. Crosby had five points in the third.
It was all Cortland in the fourth quarter as the Red Dragons outscored Potsdam 20-10 to close out the 72-51 win.
Crosby finished with nine points and 11 rebounds and LaFountain also scored nine and grabbed five boards
McGuire paced the Red Dragons with 26 points and Corrine Miedrich had 19 points.
The Bears look to bounce back Tuesday evening as they host Plattsburgh State for an important SUNYAC contest at 5:30 p.m.
