GENESEO, N.Y. – The SUNY Potsdam women's basketball team (6-11, 2-9 SUNYAC) fell to SUNY Geneseo (15-5, 10-2 SUNYAC) 69-60 on Saturday afternoon. Junior guard Xy'El Bradford (Syracuse, N.Y./Syracuse Academy of Science) paced the Bears with 18 points on 50-percent shooting from the field.
 
Bradford got Potsdam on the board two minutes into the opening quarter off a close jumper. Geneseo immediately answered with a 7-0 run starting at 8:12. Hannah Stockman sank a 3-point shot and Kelly McLaughlin and Kerry Dennin each made layups to give the Knights a quick 7-2 lead. At 5:10, junior guard Carley Hill (Essex, Vt./Rice Memorial) sank her first 3-pointer of the game off a find from junior guard Mikayla Shipley (North Chili, N.Y./Churchville-Chili) to put the Bears back within two points. Both teams continued to trade baskets for the remainder of the quarter as Geneseo took a 15-12 lead after one. Junior guard Zavia Jaime (New Hartford, N.Y./New Hartford) scored seven points in the quarter.
 
The Knights scored the first four points in the second quarter to put them up 19-12 at the 8:56 mark. Hill broke the small run as she nailed her second 3-pointer of the contest off another assist from Shipley to trim the Geneseo lead to four with 7:21 remaining. The Knights countered with a 7-0 run midway through the second quarter that extended their lead 26-15 with 3:43 to go. Junior forward Alivia Latham (Brooklyn, N.Y./John Dewey) and Shipley each scored a layup in the remaining three minutes as Geneseo took the 31-19 advantage into the half.
 
Coming out of halftime, Bradford scored the first four points for the Bears as the Knights still led at the 7:45 mark. Neither team gained any significant momentum until junior guard Barbara Bruno (Bronx, N.Y./Brooklyn High School for Law and Technology) made an offensive putback to spark the Bears' offense with 3:47 remaining. Freshman guard Sara Richards (AuSable Valley, N.Y./AuSable Valley), Latham, Bruno, and Jaime all scored in the last three minutes as the Knights continued to lead 46-39 after three.
 
One minute into the final quarter, Hill sank her third trifecta of the game to close the gap to within six points. Geneseo then routed an 8-0 run to erase Potsdam's momentum, giving the Knights a 55-42 lead midway through the quarter. Potsdam countered with a 6-0 run of their own, started by junior forward Jenna Cotter (Johnson City, N.Y./Susquehanna Valley) who scored a layup off an offensive rebound. Bardford scored the next four points in the run as the Bears clawed back to within seven points with four minutes to go. After both teams traded a pair of free throws, Shipley picked the ball free for her second steal of the game as she took it down the court for the easy score. Potsdam trailed Geneseo 57-52 with 2:54 remaining. After a Geneseo 3-point make with two minutes on the clock, Cotter bullied her way into the paint to complete the old-fashioned three-point play to cut the Knights lead to four. Despite the Bears' comeback effort, Geneseo hit seven free throws in the final minute to seal the victory at home.
 
Jaime registered 10 points and Hill netted nine points on 3-4 shooting from deep for the Bears. Shipley dished out five assists and Cotter grabbed six rebounds to round out the leaders.
 
Dennin led the Knights with 22 points while Kristin Suydam complimented her teammate with 12 points of her own.
 
The Bears are back in action when they travel to Plattsburgh State on Tuesday for a 5:30 p.m. matchup with the Cardinals.