SUNY Potsdam women's basketball team runs out of gas at first-place Geneseo

The SUNY Potsdam women’s basketball team was unable to overcome an off shooting night Friday, falling at Geneseo 74-46 in a State University of New York Athletic Conference contest at Geneseo, N.Y.

Potsdam shot just 27.1 percent from the field while allowing first-place Geneseo to shoot 54 percent. The Bears had allowed just 57.0 points per game in their last two contests.

“We’ve been pretty good defensively for the most part, but tonight nothing was working and (Geneseo) got any shot they wanted,” Potsdam coach Tara Ruckh said. “Offensively, we didn’t shoot well and were never in sync.”

After falling behind 20-4 just over eight minutes into the game, the Bears (3-16 overall, 2-10 SUNYAC) narrowed their deficit to eight points with 9:36 to play in the half sparked by a pair of jumpers from junior Sophie Parks (Bogart, Ga.).

However, the Blue Knights (17-2, 12-0) ended the half on a 15-6 run and didn’t allow Potsdam any closer than 17 points the rest of the way.

“We cut into their deficit in the first half, but that took a lot of energy and we sort of ran out of gas,” Ruckh said. “We need to execute better offensively and have better poise going forward.”

Freshman Jessica Kouzan (Webster, N.Y.) tallied a team-high eight points to go with three rebounds. Senior captain Brittany Whitton (DeKalb, N.Y.) registered seven points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Junior Alicia Bradberry (Sandy Creek, N.Y.) and sophomore Katy Briedis (Canton, N.Y.) finished with seven points apiece.

The Bears grabbed 14 offensive rebounds, shot 11-of-13 from the free throw line and posted 15 steals, including 11 in the first half. Potsdam was outscored 26-8 on points in the paint.

The Bears return to action tomorrow at Brockport at 2 p.m.