POTSDAM, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's basketball team battled Clarkson University to two overtimes, but the Cardinals came up just short in an 81-75 non-conference setback to the Golden Knights on Monday to open up the 2022 portion of their schedule. It marked the Cardinals' final non-conference game of the regular season.
 
Clarkson opened up a 61-57 lead with 2:26 left in the fourth quarter following a jumper by senior forward Lauren Bell, but senior guard Kayla Doody (Troy, N.Y./Tamarac) drew the Cardinals within three with 1:42 remaining after knocking down a free throw. Following a Golden Knight shot clock violation, Doody buried a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left to tie the game at 61-all, but Bell got fouled with four ticks remaining and made the back end of the free throws to hand Clarkson a 62-61 advantage.
 
Plattsburgh State called timeout to advance the ball to half court on the inbound, and first-year forward Payton Couture (Redford, N.Y./Saranac) got fouled with 0.7 seconds left. She hit the second free throw to tie the game at 62-all, and despite a solid look by first-year guard Cassidy Dumont at the buzzer, her shot clanged off the front of the rim to send the contest into overtime.
 
Neither team scored for the first 2:21 of the first overtime period before junior guard Mya Smith (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) broke the ice with a layup. First-year guard Hope Sullivan (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury) nailed a 3-pointer to stake the Cardinals to a 67-62 lead, but a layup by Bell and a 3-pointer by Dumont drew the score back to even. Sullivan cashed in on a layup with five seconds to go before Dumont answered at the buzzer to level the score at 69-69 heading into the second overtime.
 
Clarkson never trailed in the second overtime, with junior forward Elaina Porter scoring on the opening possession. That kick started a 7-0 Golden Knight run, and a free throw by first-year guard Veronica Tache gave the home team a 76-69 advantage with 1:45 left in the second overtime. Couture accounted for all four points in a 4-0 run to draw the Cardinals within a possession, and after Dumont made a free throw with 30 seconds left, Sullivan pulled Plattsburgh State within 77-75 with 22 seconds to go. First-year guard Kailey Johnson scored for Clarkson to extend the lead back out to four before Porter made two free throws with three seconds left to seal the Golden Knight victory.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 3-7 overall with the loss and next visits Fredonia in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action on Friday, Jan. 7, at 5:30 p.m. Clarkson rises to 1-8 overall with the win and next visits Vassar College for a 5:30 p.m. Liberty League tilt on Friday, Jan. 7.
 
Clarkson scored the first six points of the game and led by as many as eight in the opening quarter, but layups by sophomore forward Caitlin Kolesar (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) and sophomore guard Brinley Inglee (Hudson Falls, N.Y./Hudson Falls) in the final 1:06 of the first pulled Plattsburgh State within two.
 
While Clarkson's Tache kicked off the second quarter with a made basket, a jumper by Sullivan and two free throws by Couture tied the game at 19-all. The Golden Knights opened up a pair of six-point leads before an Inglee layup and a Sullivan trey whittled the deficit to one. The two teams traded points until a layup by Dumont handed Clarkson a 35-31 lead heading into the locker rooms.
 
Following a Dumont jumper midway through the third that staked the home team to a 42-37 cushion, Plattsburgh State went on an 11-point tear, and a layup by Couture with 1:43 remaining in the quarter handed the Cardinals a 48-42 lead. Dumont hit a jumper before junior guard Kanesha Strider (Long Island, N.Y./Longwood) answered with a 3-pointer, but Tache's layup with two seconds left pulled Clarkson within five heading into the final regulation period.
 
The two sides traded points in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, but the Golden Knights netted eight unanswered and seized a 59-55 lead with 3:12 to go. Strider made a pair of free throws to end the run before Bell's jumper with 2:26 left set the stage for the dramatic ending to regulation.
 
Plattsburgh State shot 34.2 percent (25-of-73) from the floor and 70.8 percent (17-of-24) from the line, while Clarkson overcame a 52.9 percent (9-of-17) performance from the charity stripe by shooting 47.2 percent (34-of-72) from the field. The Golden Knights finished with a 55-39 edge in rebounds, while the Cardinals forced Clarkson into 21 turnovers, netting 20 points off those giveaways.
 
Sullivan played the entire 50 minutes of her intercollegiate debut, scoring 20 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Couture had a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double, while Doody registered 15 points in 39 minutes coming off the bench. Strider also reached double figures with 11 points.
 
For Clarkson, Dumont led all scorers with 29 points, while Porter, Bell and senior forward Maddie Pratt added 17, 12 and 10 points, respectively. Bell and Porter recorded double-doubles, with Bell grabbing 19 rebounds and Porter pulling down 12 boards. Dumont also dished out five assists.