POTSDAM, N.Y. – The SUNY Potsdam women's basketball team (4-1) cruised past Clarkson University (2-3) 58-46 at the Alumni Gymnasium. Graduate forward Jakia Howard (Syracuse, N.Y./Nottingham) registered her fourth double-double of the season with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Junior guard Carley Hill (Essex, Vt./Rice Memorial) and junior forward Jenna Cotter (Johnson City, N.Y./Susquehanna Valley) both scored a career-high 15 points while Hill was a scorching 5-6 from deep.
 
The Golden Knights got themselves on the board forty-two seconds into the opening quarter off a 3-pointer from Cassidy Dumont. After Cotter tied the game at 6:34, Clarkson guard Raelin Burns nailed another 3-point shot off an assist from Emma Chambers to put the Golden Knights back up by three. With 4:59 to go, Howard snatched the defensive board and dribbled up the court where she found Hill wide open for her first 3-pointer of the game to tie the game 6-6. Potsdam managed to get their first lead of the game when Cotter sank a pair of free throws to give the Bears an 8-6 edge. Burns countered with back-to-back 3-pointers, both off assists from Addie Kea to give Clarkson the one-point lead with 4:00 remaining. The Golden Knights then routed a 6-2 run give themselves the five-point advantage at 1:37. Twenty seconds later, Hill nailed her second 3-pointer of the quarter as the Golden Knights took a 17-13 lead after one.
 
Thirty seconds into the second quarter, Advika Srinivasan sank a 3-pointer to extend Clarkson's lead to seven. Started by a layup from Howard, Potsdam managed a 13-5 run over the following seven minutes to retake the lead 26-25 with 2:44 to go. Howard and Cotter scored eight and five points, respectively during the run. Junior guard Zavia Jaime (New Hartford, N.Y./New Hartford) split two defenders and finished with the left-handed lay-in to extend the Bears lead to three. With 1:24 remaining, Dumont scored her second three-pointer as the Golden Knights tied the game 28-28 at the half.
 
At the 8:26 mark in the third, junior guard Mikayla Shipley (North Chili, N.Y./Churchville-Chili) located Hill for the trifecta, putting the Bears up 33-29. Clarkson slowly fought back into the game over the following four minutes before freshman guard Sara Richards (AuSable Valley, N.Y./AuSable Valley) silenced the crowd with a 3-pointer at the 4:14 mark to extend Potsdam's lead 40-36. With 57 seconds remaining, junior guard Xy'El Bradford (Syracuse, N.Y./Syracuse Academy of Science) intercepted a pass and took it coast-to-coast for the easy finish as the Bears took a 42-37 advantage into the final quarter.
 
The fourth and final quarter was all Potsdam from the get-go. Howard scored the first four points of the quarter as the Bears widened their lead 46-39 with 6:40 to go. Hill sank her fifth and final 3-pointer of the game with 2:31 remaining to give the Bears a commanding 56-44 lead, putting the nail in the coffin for the Golden Knights. Cotter scored two more points in the final 35 seconds as Potsdam took the victory over their cross-town rivals.
 
Bradford collected six rebounds and Shipley hauled in six rebounds and dished out six assists to round out the leaders for Potsdam.
 
Dumont paced the Golden Knights with 16 points and Burns chipped in 11 points. Bella Doyle registered seven rebounds.
 
The Bears dominated the Golden Knights in the post, scoring 32 points in the paint. As a team, Potsdam shot a blistering 50 percent from three.
 
After the completion of this game, Howard is only 89 points shy of surpassing 1,000 career points.
 
The Bears are back in action this Friday, Dec. 1, when they open SUNYAC play on the road against Oswego State at 5:30 p.m.