PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's basketball team fell just short of victory in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) opener for both teams, dropping a 67-63 decision to SUNY Potsdam on Tuesday evening at Memorial Hall.
 
The Cardinals erased a six-point deficit by going on a 7-0 tear midway through the fourth quarter, and a layup by junior guard Mya Smith (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) with 4:18 to go in regulation gave Plattsburgh State a 60-59 advantage. The Bears netted five unanswered points to build a four-point edge, and after first-year forward Payton Couture (Redford, N.Y./Saranac) pulled the Cardinals within 64-62 with a made jumper with 47 seconds left, Smith knocked down one of two free throws with eight seconds left to make it a one-point game.
 
Plattsburgh State fouled on the ensuing possession, and the Bears missed the first before making the second, opening up an opportunity for the Cardinals to tie the game with six seconds left on the clock. A turnover ultimately put the game on ice, as Potsdam's sophomore guard Caroline LaFountain buried a pair of free throws on the Bears' next possession.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 3-3 overall (0-1 SUNYAC) with the loss and next hosts SUNY Oneonta on Friday, Dec. 3, at 5:30 p.m. Potsdam rises to 5-1 overall (1-0 SUNYAC) with the win and entertains SUNY New Paltz next on Friday, Dec. 3, at 5:30 p.m.
 
Potsdam jumped out to a 15-8 lead in the opening 3:16 of the game, but an 11-2 Cardinal tear that was capped off by a made free throw by junior forward Misa Dowdell (Far Rockaway, N.Y./Scholars Academy) with 39 seconds left in the first half gave Plattsburgh State a 19-17 edge through 10 minutes of play.
 
The two teams stayed within a possession of each other in the second quarter, and the Cardinals' high-water mark came when they took a pair of two-point leads, with Dowdell putting Plattsburgh State up 25-23 with 5:28 left and junior guard Kanesha Strider (Long Island, N.Y./Longwood) burying a layup to give the Cardinals a 29-27 cushion with 3:41 remaining. Potsdam ended the half on a 7-3 run to post a 34-32 lead at the intermission.
 
The Bears netted seven unanswered points to begin the third quarter, and junior forward Alyson Crosby gave the visitors a nine-point advantage (41-32). A pair of 3-pointers by Smith whittled the deficit to three, but Potsdam took control down the stretch in the third, leading by as many as 11 points. Plattsburgh State trailed, 53-44, heading into the fourth.
 
While Potsdam's junior forward Mandy Barnell scored the first basket of the fourth quarter, the Cardinals scored five of the next six points to cut the gap to single digits. Sophomore guard Brinley Inglee (Hudson Falls, N.Y./Hudson Falls) punctuated the run with a 3-pointer to pull the home team within 56-49.
 
Plattsburgh State shot 44.1 percent (26-of-59) from the floor and finished with a 41-39 edge in rebounds. Potsdam was 33.8 percent (22-of-65) from the field but won the game at the free-throw line, shooting 72.4 percent (21-of-29).
 
Smith led the Cardinal attack with a career-high 20 points, while Dowdell posted career highs in points (14), rebounds (12) and blocks (4) to provide production in the post. Senior guard Kayla Doody (Troy, N.Y./Tamarac) dished out five assists to keep the offense running and added two steals.
 
For Potsdam, junior guard Madison McCormick and LaFountain tallied 18 and 11 points, respectively, while Crosby nearly had a double-double with eight points and nine rebounds.