NEW PALTZ, NY- The SUNY New Paltz women’s basketball team seeded second in the SUNYAC Tournament host seventh seed Potsdam Tuesday night in the Hawk Center. The Bears were able to hold off the Hawks attack for the 62-61 upset.
The first half the Bears and Hawks were tied 4-4 with 14:28 remaining before a 15-1 run by the Bears gave them a 19-5 lead with 9:17 left in the half. Junior guard Maggie Farrell (Hillsdale, NY/Immaculate) hit a three-pointer to end the run and a nine minute and fifty second drought for the Hawks. The basket ignited the Hawks on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to 21-13. Potsdam held their ground as the Hawks would fall behind 32-21 at the half.
Farrell led the Hawks with 11 points, two rebounds and two steals in the first half. Freshman guard Kaitlin Clifford (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) chipped in with five points and sophomore forward Artie Williams (Newburgh, NY/Newburgh Free Academy) added four points and six rebounds.
Rachel Graf and Cortney Poirier each scored nine points apiece for the Bears and Hannah Fairchild added five points. Molly Krauza scored three points and grabbed seven rebounds in the half.
The Hawks started the second half on a 7-2 run to cut the lead to six and force the Bears to take a timeout. The Bears would come out and build their lead to ten, but the Hawks responded with a 15-2 over the four minutes to take a 54-49 advantage and holding the Bears without a field goal for three and half minutes. A three-pointer by Hannah Fairchild and a lay-up by Kelsey Shoen tied the contest at 54-54 with 4:30 remaining in the game.
The Hawks would again take a three point lead with 2:29 remaining. A jumper by Hannah Fairchild would cut the lead to 61-60 with 1:56 to go. The game winning basket came with 1:02 remaining by Potsdam’s Cortney Poirier.
Maureen Curley missed the front end of an one and one with four second to go. Junior forward Chelsea Clarke (Ithaca, NY/Lansing) rebounded the ball and passed up court to Farrell who drove and found junior guard Nicole Sarcone (Staten Island, NY/Notre Dame Academy) wide open for a three-pointer. Sarcone hit the three-pointer at the buzzer, but the referees waved off the basket and the Hawks fell to the Bears.
Farrell scored a game-high 20 points and Williams had a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Junior forward Carly Minehan (Albany, NY/Albany) scored nine points, had seven rebounds and two block shots. Freshman guard Caitlin Irwin (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Kearney) and Clifford each scored seven points apiece. Sarcone dished out a game-high eight assists, tallied seven rebounds and a game-high three steals. The Hawks fall to 17-8 overall.
Rachel Grad led the Bears with 15 points, had six rebounds and four assists. Cortney Poirier chipped in with 13 points and nine rebounds and Hannah Fairchild scored 12 points for the Bears. The Bears improve to 16-10 overall.
