POTSDAM, N.Y. – Down by two with 3.1 seconds left in the first overtime period, senior forward Taylor Clare (Peekskill, N.Y./Peekskill) buried a jumper from the left elbow to tie the game, and the Plattsburgh State women's basketball team wound up cruising in the second overtime period to seal an 80-75 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) victory on Tuesday evening at Jerry Welsh Gymnasium.
 
After junior guard Theresa Quinn (Cromwell, Conn./Cromwell) hit a free throw to give the Cardinals a 59-57 lead with 16 seconds left in regulation, Potsdam's sophomore guard Hunter Dyamon scored on a layup with 11 seconds remaining to knot the score at 59-all. Plattsburgh State was unable to bury the game winner on its final possession of the fourth quarter, and the Cardinals headed to overtime for the first time this season.
 
The two teams traded points in the first overtime period. Freshman guard Tsai Lewis handed the Bears a 70-68 advantage with 40 seconds left in the stanza, while sophomore guard Kayla Doody (Troy, N.Y./Tamarac) hit a pair of free throws on Plattsburgh State's next trip down the floor to tie the game. Following a 30-second timeout, the Bears' sophomore forward Devyn Elliott milked the clock down and hit a step-back jumper with 3.1 seconds remaining to give the home team a 72-70 lead. The Cardinals called a timeout to advance the ball to midcourt, and sophomore guard Ly'rell Walker (Yonkers, N.Y./Roosevelt) inbounded the ball to Clare on the left elbow. Clare quickly turned and fired off a shot, which went through the cylinder just 0.8 seconds before the buzzer.
 
Plattsburgh State scored the first six points of the second overtime period, and a free throw by Quinn handed the Cardinals a 78-72 lead with 1:20 left. Potsdam's freshman guard Caroline LaFountain nailed a 3-pointer to make it a one-possession game, but after each team came up with a defensive stop, Potsdam was forced to foul Quinn with 11 seconds remaining. Quinn knocked down both shots to ice the game.
 
The Cardinals rise to 5-7 overall (2-3 SUNYAC) with the win and next visit Buffalo State on Friday, Jan. 17, at 5:30 p.m. The Bears fall to 4-7 overall (1-4 SUNYAC) with the loss and visit Fredonia next on Friday, Jan. 17, at 5:30 p.m.
 
Potsdam went on a 6-0 run in the first quarter to open up a 12-6 lead. Junior guard Hanna Whitney (Keene, N.Y./Keene Central) stopped the surge with a 3-pointer, but the two teams traded baskets before Hunter scored on a layup with three seconds left in the frame to give the Bears a 16-11 lead through 10 minutes of play.
 
Plattsburgh State netted 10 consecutive points to begin the second quarter, and a 3-pointer by freshman guard Mya Smith (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) staked the Cardinals to a 21-16 advantage. Smith wound up hitting two more treys in the stanza, the last of which provided the halftime score of 27-21 in favor of Plattsburgh State.
 
Quinn and Clare scored on the Cardinals' first two possessions of the third quarter to take a 31-21 lead, which ended up being Plattsburgh State's largest of the game. Potsdam scored seven unanswered points to pull within 33-32, and after Quinn converted on two free throws, Hunter buried a 3-pointer to tie the game. The two teams battled back and forth down the stretch in the period, and a Clare layup with eight seconds to go put the Cardinals on top, 41-40.
 
After LaFountain gave the Bears the lead once again 45 seconds into the fourth quarter, the Cardinals went on a 7-0 spurt, and an old-fashioned 3-point play by Walker gave Plattsburgh State a 48-42 cushion. The Cardinals kept the Bears from rattling off large runs the rest of the quarter, but Hunter's game-tying layup ended up sending the game into overtime.
 
Plattsburgh State won the game at the free throw line, shooting 82.6 percent (19-of-23) from the charity stripe. The Cardinals also shot 33.8 percent (27-of-80) from the field and forced the Bears into 22 turnovers. Potsdam, meanwhile, shot 36.6 percent (30-of-72) from the floor and posted a 64-48 edge in rebounds.
 
Quinn scored a career-high 23 points to lead the Cardinals' attack, while Clare posted career-high totals in both points (16) and rebounds (21). Her 21 rebounds were tied for the fourth-most in a single game in program history and were the most a Cardinal has pulled down since Heidi Gifford set the program record of 24 on Jan. 20, 2001, against The College at Brockport. Walker also reached double-digit scoring figures with 12 points.
 
For Potsdam, five players reached double figures: Elliott (17), LaFountain (17), Hunter (15), freshman forward Jakia Howard (12) and Lewis (11). Elliott and Howard each recorded double-doubles with 17 and 12 rebounds, respectively, while Elliott fell just two assists shy of a triple-double with eight on the evening. Hunter also distributed eight assists.