POTSDAM, N.Y. ¬ The SUNY Potsdam women¹s basketball team put forth a solid effort Monday night, but was defeated 66-48 against Utica in the season-opener for both teams at Welsh Gymnasium.

Senior guard Aimee Kellicutt recorded 19 points, four assists and four steals to lead the Bears (0-1), who were unable to slow the high-low game of the Pioneers and fell victim to Utica’s full-court pressure. Potsdam turned the ball over 28 times and allowed the Pioneers to shoot 51 percent from the field.

Utica (1-0), which received votes in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Preseason poll and made the second round of last season¹s NCAA Tournament, was led by All-American Jessica Berry, who recorded 25 points and 14 rebounds.

“Utica is a very good team,” Potsdam coach Tara Ruckh said. “We got punched in the mouth coming out, but bounced back. We needed to hold on, but we couldn¹t. We had some untimely turnovers and could have been better defensively.”

In the first half, the Bears offense was stymied by the Pioneers¹ full-court pressure, and Utica shot 60.9 percent from the field compared to 44.4 percent for Potsdam. After falling behind 26-11 at the 8:06 mark, the Bears rallied to cut the deficit to 31-24 with 3:02 to play after a 3-pointer by freshman Jessica Kouzan (Webster, N.Y.), who totaled with seven points and four rebounds in the frame.

The Pioneers pulled away in the second half, taking a 51-28 lead, their largest margin to that point, with 12:12 to go in the second half. Potsdam cut the lead to 58-46 with 6:20 to play, but was unable to string together more scoring possessions.

“I told the team after the game that I care about what we do, not the score,” Ruckh said. “We need to get better at the little things. The good thing is that it’s a non-conference game against a good opponent, so we’e learning.”

Sophomore Katy Briedis (Canton, N.Y.) added eight points for Potsdam.

The Bears return to the floor Wednesday against local rival St. Lawrence.

Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at Welsh Gymnasium.