By Garrett Collins
The Cardinals returned home versus the Potsdam Bears in Memorial Hall Nov. 30. It was a game that grinded out to the very end. The team looked better on defense than they showed when they were down, as they were able to shed a nine point deficit going into the fourth quarter. Unfortunately they weren’t able to hold on to the comeback and fell to the Bears by a score of 67-63.
The Cardinals and the Bears both went back and forth during the first quarter. The Bears had a nice run during the middle of the first quarter, at one point leading the game 15-8 with 3:16 left in the first. Two three pointers from Mya Smith and Brinley Inglee kept the Cardinals away from falling behind and the Cardinals were able to take the lead in the final couple minutes of the quarter, ending it with a score of 19-17 in favor of the Cardinals. The Cardinals early game shooting woes were something that wasn’t a factor throughout the first quarter going 7-12 and 2-3. The second quarter saw another close matchup between the two teams. The largest lead of the quarter was held to three points and that was held by the Potsdam Bears.
The Cardinals kept pushing, keeping close to the Potsdam offense who was held to 29% from the field. Another thing that was being pushed around was Plattsburgh, as they started getting physical on the floor. One player that was beat around, was senior guard Kayla Doody.
“We knew going into the game that it was going to be physical, Potsdam and us have always had a competitive rivalry,” Doody said. “We talked about staying together and playing as a team, not letting the physical side affect how we played mentally. I thought we did great as a team working past that and staying together.”
The first half ended with the Cardinals down to the Bears 34-32. Plattsburghs shooting looked good but not nearly as effective as they were in the first quarter shooting 6-19 but the 1-6 from three point distance left something to be desired, but the Cardinals were still in striking distance after one half of play.
The second half of the game started with a 7-0 run by the Bears which extended their lead to nine within the first 2 minutes of the third quarter. Two three pointers from Mya Smith cut the Bears lead to just three points. The Bears extended the lead they had slowly but surely, ending the quarter with a 9 point lead at the end of the third, leading the game 53-44.
The Cardinals shot ok from the field as they went 5-14, but was once again abysmal from three point range making just 2 of their 7.
The 4th quarter opened up with the Bears, who were nursing a nine point lead, immediately went to work scoring the opening basket. But after that, the Cardinals woke up. A timely three-pointer from Inglee and 2 jumpers from Peyton Couture closed the gap just in time for a late run for the Cardinals. With 6:36 left in the game, the Cardinals found themselves in a spot that seemed unlikely in the beginning of the quarter. They were down by two and a fastbreak foul drawn by Inglee closed the lead to just one point with 6:17 left. Two minutes later, with 4:18 left in the game, Mya Smith for the Cardinals found the bottom of the net from a clutch layup, to finally take the lead and seemingly finish the comeback.
Two brutal turnovers for the Cardinals allowed the Bears to reclaim the lead 64-60. Couture put the Cardinals in striking distance once more with 47 seconds left with the Bears holding on by a string to a one point lead. The Cardinals found themselves in a position to force overtime when it came down to the final free throws. The Cardinals failed to convert the tying free throw and found themselves in a free throw game in which the Bears won. The Cardinals would lose the game 67-63. One thing that was apparent was the change of pace on defense. The team looked a whole lot better at being able to bottle up the opponents offense. One player that made a huge impact on that side of the ball was forward Misa Dowdell. She put up 4 blocks and put up 14 points. Defence is something that she prides herself on and finds that the team plays well when they lock it down.
“As anyone would say, defense wins games. Being able to stop your opponents from scoring gives the team opportunities to capitalize,” Dowdell said. “Even if offensively the team is off, we know that by getting a stop we get in the heads of our opponents which just gives us the opportunities we need to score.”
Dowdell made a return to the lineup for the first time this season and was noticed by the whole team, especially fellow forward Couture.
“She’s a strong powerful force inside,”Couture said. “I think we played solid defense for most of the game.”
within the first 2 minutes of the third quarter. Two three pointers from Mya Smith cut the Bears lead to just three points. The Bears extended the lead they had slowly but surely, ending the quarter with a nine point lead at the end of the third, leading the game 53-44.
The Cardinals shot ok from the field as they went 5-14, but was once again abysmal from three point range making just 2 of their 7.
The 4th quarter opened up with the Bears, who were nursing a nine point lead, immediately went to work scoring the opening basket. But after that, the Cardinals woke up. A timely three-pointer from Inglee and 2 jumpers from Peyton Couture closed the gap just in time for a late run for the Cardinals. With 6:36 left in the game, the Cardinals found themselves in a spot that seemed unlikely in the beginning of the quarter. They were down by two and a fastbreak foul drawn by Inglee closed the lead to just one point with 6:17 left. Two minutes later, with 4:18 left in the game, Mya Smith for the Cardinals found the bottom of the net from a clutch layup, to finally take the lead and seemingly finish the comeback.
Two brutal turnovers for the Cardinals allowed the Bears to reclaim the lead 64-60. Couture put the Cardinals in striking distance once more with 47 seconds left with the Bears holding on by a string to a one point lead. The Cardinals found themselves in a position to force overtime when it came down to the final free throws. The Cardinals failed to convert the tying free throw and found themselves in a free throw game in which the Bears won. The Cardinals would lose the game 67-63. One thing that was apparent was the change of pace on defense. The team looked a whole lot better at being able to bottle up the opponents offense. One player that made a huge impact on that side of the ball was forward Misa Dowdell. She put up 4 blocks and put up 14 points. Defence is something that she prides herself on and finds that the team plays well when they lock it down.
“As anyone would say, defense wins games. Being able to stop your opponents from scoring gives the team opportunities to capitalize,” Dowdell said. “Even if offensively the team is off, we know that by getting a stop we get in the heads of our opponents which just gives us the opportunities we need to score.”
Dowdell made a return to the lineup for the first time this season and was noticed by the whole team, especially fellow forward Couture.
“She’s a strong powerful force inside,”Couture said. “I think we played solid defense for most of the game.”
