POTSDAM, N.Y. – The SUNY Potsdam women’s basketball team was unable to sustain an early second-half run Friday, falling 61-46 against Buffalo State in a State University of New York Athletic Conference affair at Maxcy Hall’s Welsh Gymnasium.
Senior captain Brittany Whitton (DeKalb, N.Y.) scored 11 of her team-high 12 points in the first half for the Bears (2-12 overall, 1-6 SUNYAC), who committed 25 turnovers and surrendered 21 offensive rebounds to offset a solid 41.3 percent shooting performance from the field.
“I thought the rebounding was the biggest difference,” Potsdam coach Tara Ruckh said. “I was also disappointed that (Buffalo State) got to the line 21 times to our eight times. We didn’t set a good tone in the first half with 17 turnovers, but I was pleased with our shooting, especially in the first half.”
Potsdam, which held the Bengals (7-6, 2-5) to 34.9 percent shooting for the contest, quickly narrowed a nine-point halftime deficit to two points at the 16:53 mark with an 11-2 run to open the period. However, Buffalo State would make a push of its own, extending its lead to 45-31 with a 12-0 surge, capped with 13:30 left on a 3-pointer by Barb Kiliszek.
The Bears were unable to recover, falling behind by as many as 21 points.
“We didn’t shoot poorly, but now we have to limit the turnovers and keep teams off the glass,” Ruckh said. “This was one of the games we needed to have this weekend, but we’ll fight back and get after it tomorrow. We just need to keep learning from our mistakes.”
Sophomore Katy Briedis (Canton, N.Y.) tallied 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, while junior Sophie Parks (Bogart, Ga.) posted a team-high eight rebounds. Senior captain Aimee Kellicutt (Lisle, N.Y.) littered the stat sheet with seven points, three rebounds, four assists and three steals.
The Bears return to the floor tomorrow against Fredonia. Tip-off at Welsh Gymnasium is slated for 2 p.m.
