By Jessica Landman
The Cardinals traveled out to Potsdam for their fifth consecutive away game on Feb. 8. Ending the first quarter down, the Plattsburgh women’s basketball team gained the lead in the second and kept that advantage through the final three quarters, guiding the team to a 68-60 win over the Bears.
Just one minute into the first quarter, a 3-point shot made by Mya Smith put Plattsburgh on the scoreboard. The Bears went on to score five consecutive points with Couture getting a layup shortly after. With six minutes remaining in the quarter, Hannah Roberto made a good layup to lessen the Bear’s lead, however this was quickly followed by another five points made by Potsdam. Coming back with only four minutes remaining, Couture secures three points with two layups and Inglee with a three pointer. Sullivan finished out the quarter with a jump shot ending with a score of 15-18, Bears.
The Cardinals started the second quarter on a high note. Only 30 seconds in with a completed jump shot shot by Kelly Degan assisted by Misa Dowell. This however was followed up by two good layups from Potsdam. Plattsburgh’s Mya Smith responded with a three point basket and Misa Dowell with a jumper in the paint. The Cardinals wrapped up the quarter with Couture and Roberto both bringing in two points each giving Plattsburgh a 31-30 lead at halftime.
First year and point leader for this game, Payton Couture said, “My team and I knew we had to stick to our original defensive and offensive plan that we were working on from our previous practice. As well as keeping our energy and confidence up throughout the rest of the game for us to win.”
Coming out of half, Couture sank a 3-pointer after just one minute into the third quarter. After even, back-and-forth play by both teams, Cardinals kept their narrow lead over Potsdam until about seven minutes into the quarter when the Bears gained seven consecutive points giving them a one point lead. Couture responded with four points at the end of the quarter bringing the score to 49-46 with just ten minutes left in the game.
Coming into the final quarter, Plattsburgh came out strong with six points three minutes in. The Bears answer with five successive points but it’s still not enough to give them the lead. Hope Sullivan secures that lead further making two good free throws with just six minutes left in the game. The Cardinals finish the game resolutely with points from Smith, Couture and Sullivan. The Cardinals end the night with a 68-60 win over the Potsdam Bears. “Yes, I think playing Potsdam later on in the year again played a factor in us being able to walk away with a big win. As the second time we played them our offense was noticeably better,” Couture said, “As well as when we played Potsdam the first time, we didn’t have the team we have now.”
This win over the Potsdam bears brings the Cardinal’s women’s basketball team to a 7-14 record with a 4-10 SUNYAC record.
The Plattsburgh Women’s basketball team had another game just three days after their exciting win against SUNY Potsdam. SUNY Geneseo came to Plattsburgh’s Memorial Hall Gymnasium after having five away games. The match was close, passing the lead ten times but the Cardinals eventually fell to the Knights 45-34.
Coming into this game, knowing that Geneseo would be a tough opponent, head coach Benjamin Sarraf said. “I expected that Geneseo would try to do the same thing they did the first time against us because it worked so well. They basically ran on us when they could and used their size advantage when we were able to slow them down. Those two factors combined crushed us. Knowing that, we prepared to stop their size in the half court and continue to get back in transition. Offensively – we knew we needed to be patient… in order to be successful against a team that big you need multiple attacks, ball reversals, and paint touches to get good looks. That’s why we were taking our time on offense.”
Geneseo took the lead early and through many missed shots from both sides, the Knights finally made a point with five minutes left in the quarter. Two minutes later, Plattsburgh got onto the scoreboard with a good three pointer made by Brinley Inglee to tie the game. The low-scoring quarter ended 6-9 with Geneseo taking the lead.
The second quarter was opened up two minutes in with a three pointer made by Kayla Doody, assisted by Couture, and tied the game 9-9. After a free throw made by Payton Couture to bring Plattsburgh into the lead, both teams were evenly matched with Sullivan, Dowdell, Smith, and Doody scoring points to end the second quarter with an overall score of 19-17.
“With the lead at half I expected Geneseo to change their gameplan,” Coach Benjamin said. “I knew the only way we would win is if we could adjust to whatever they had planned.”
Geneseo opened the second with two quick layups to take the lead. Plattsburgh’s comeback came shortly after with Hannah Roberto’s layup to tie while Deagan, with a three point, and Roberto, with a layup, took a five point lead with only six minutes left in the quarter. Kayla Doody came in with a three point and two good free throws, however with the Knights being the primary scorers, they took a narrow lead at the end of the third quarter with a score of 31-32.
The fourth quarter started with a three point made by Geneseo but a quick response from Brinley Inglee also with a three point shot to tie the game one final time with eight minutes remaining in the game. The Knights dominated the rest of the quarter with two three pointers, two jump shots, a free throw, and a layup. The game ended with a devastating final score of 34-45.
This loss to the Geneseo Knights brings the Plattsburgh State women’s basketball team to a record of 7-15 and a SUNYAC record of 4-11.
“Moving forward into the rest of our season we will continue to play with confidence as well as high energy,” Payton Couture said.
This confidence and energy will continue in the team’s final home game and senior night against SUNY Brockport Feb. 12 and away games at SUNY New Paltz Feb. 18 and SUNY Oneonta Feb. 19.
