POTSDAM, N.Y. – After a close battle through three-quarters of play, the Plattsburgh women's basketball team pulled away in the fourth quarter leading to a 62-52 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) win over Potsdam on Tuesday night. Senior guard/forward Payton Couture (Redford, N.Y. / Saranac) records her fourth double-double of the season with a team-high 16 points, game-high 12 rebounds, and three assists.

Junior guard/forward Kathy Peterson-Ross (Lake Forest, Ill. / Lake Forest) had a strong contribution on the offensive end with a career-high 13 points to go with four rebounds. Jaden Wilson (Johnstown, N.Y. / Johnstown) also reached double figures with 11 points to go with a team-high four assists, two rebounds, and two steals while Selma Deisz (Bekkestua, Norway / Nadderud VGS) had a solid outing with six points, two rebounds, and two assists.  

For the Bears, Barbara Bruno led all scorers with 18 points while Carley Hill was next in scoring with 13 points. Jenna Cotter led the team in rebounding with six and DaeLynn led the team in assists with four.

Both teams nearly shot the same from the field with the Cardinals shooting an efficient 45.6% and the Bears shooting 45.7%. While the Bears shot slightly better from behind the arc at 38.5% knocking down five, the Cardinals made four more threes going 9 of 24 at 37.5%. The Cardinals had the edge in rebounding 35-27 while both teams recorded four second-chance points. The Cardinals collected 16 points off turnovers while the Bears had 13 points off turnovers.

Plattsburgh State rises to 8-4 (4-1 SUNYAC) with the win and next opens up a seven-game homestand starting with Canton on Friday, Jan. 17 at 5:30 p.m. Potsdam falls to 6-6 (2-3 SUNYAC) with the loss and is back in action when they host Oswego State on Friday, Jan. 17 at 5:30 p.m.

After Imani Walcott (Albany, N.Y. / Albany) knotted the game at two with a putback off an offensive rebound, the Bears jumped out to an 8-3 lead at the 5:30 mark powered by six points from Bruno. Nearing the end of the quarter Peterson-Ross knocked down two three-pointers bringing the Cardinals within two. The latter three-pointer started an 8-0 run for Plattsburgh as the Cardinals took an 18-15 lead before a three-pointer from Bruno tied the game at 18 at the end of the first quarter.

A three-pointer from Wilson to open the second quarter put the Cardinals back ahead 21-18, however, after multiple exchanges of baskets the Bears took a 24-23 lead at the 7:01 mark. After a nearly two-minute scoring drought, Peterson-Ross put in a layup followed by a jumper from Hill that put the Bears back on top but a 6-0 burst from Plattsburgh to end the quarter made the score 31-26 at halftime.

The Bears started the third quarter with a quick 4-0 burst before a Wilson three-pointer made the score 34-30 Cardinals at the 7:23 mark. After both teams went scoreless for well over two minutes the Bears scored back-to-back baskets and tied the game at 34 at the 4:18 mark. Five straight Plattsburgh points that saw a three-pointer from Lauren LaFountain (Saratoga Springs, N.Y. / Saratoga Springs) and a layup from Deisz put the Cardinals back ahead 39-34. Following an exchange of layups, Plattsburgh went on a 6-0 run to end the third quarter and made the score 47-40 Cardinals.

After both teams exchanged baskets to open the fourth quarter, Plattsburgh went on a 10-0 tear and took their largest lead of the game at 17 as the score stood 59-42 at the 6:26 mark. The Bears came alive with a run of their own and made the score 59-49 Cardinals at the 2:43 mark but it was to no avail as the Cardinals killed the run with a three-pointer from Wilson before ultimately winning 62-52.