The SUNY Potsdam women’s basketball team almost ended its 2010-11 season on a high note Saturday, but was unable to maintain a late lead in a 42-39 defeat at Buffalo State in a State University of New York Athletic Conference showdown at Buffalo, N.Y.

With just under two minutes remaining in the game, the Bears (4-21 overall, 3-15 SUNYAC) took a 39-34 lead after a pair of free throws by senior captain Aimee Kellicutt (Lisle, N.Y.) and seemed to be on their way to a second consecutive road victory.

However, the Bengals (15-9, 10-8) ended the contest on an 8-0 run taking the lead for good on a 3-pointer with 1:02 on the clock. Potsdam turned the ball over on its ensuing possession and was unable to recover.

The Bears, who shot just 15.4 percent in the second half, had a chance to tie the game on the final possession, but a Kellicutt 3-pointer missed.

“We missed some easy shots throughout the second half, so if we make some of those, the outcome would have been different,” Potsdam coach Tara Ruckh said. “It was not a scoring output … it was a battle. Both teams were fighting to get shots.”

Kellicutt finished with 16 points and eight rebounds in her final collegiate game to lead Potsdam, which led 20-17 at the half thanks to Kellicutt’s 11 points in the opening period. The Bears were held scoreless until the 14:01 mark of the first but made a 16-4 run to end the half after falling behind by nine with 7:15 on the clock.

Senior captain Brittany Whitton (DeKalb, N.Y.), who also played the final game of her Potsdam career, tallied 13 points, burying a pair of key 3-pointers late in the second half, one which tied the game and one which gave the Bears the lead with 3:11 to play.

“I wish we would have finished our season with a better win-loss record, but our team worked hard every day and played with a strong will to win this weekend,” Ruckh said.

Potsdam finishes the season out of postseason play for the first time since the 2005-06 campaign.