The Brockport women’s basketball team fell at home to Potsdam by a score of 66-54. Trailing by as many 16 in the first half, the Golden Eagles cut the deficit down to as few as three in the fourth quarter. The margin never got closer than that however as the team simply ran out of gas at the finish.
With the loss Brockport falls to 9-11 overall on the season and 6-7 in SUNYAC play. Brockport now sits tied for sixth and the final spot in the SUNYAC playoffs with the Bears.
Bears forward Jakia Howard scored seven in the first as Potsdam built an 18-10 lead. The opening ten minutes saw Brockport shoot just 3-14 from the floor. The Green and Gold settled in a bit in the second quarter but still trailed 33-23 at the break. The Golden Eagles shot just 9-25 from the field and 1-6 from three in the first half.
“It’s a credit to Potsdam, they double teamed Stephanie (Jean-Baptiste) on ball screens, and she really hasn’t had to handle that before,” Brockport Head Coach Corinne Jones said. “They guarded our personal well, they sagged in the paint and made us shoot it. Credit to them for doing some different things to stop our leading scorers.”
In the third quarter momentum began to turn a bit as Brockport’s Zairea Hannah scored 7 straight points to cut the deficit down to 6. Hannah ended the third with 23 points, but Brockport still trailed 47-39. In the fourth Mackenzie Higby provided a lift with two straight three pointers to get Brockport within three points. Offensive rebounds and free throws fueled Potsdam to the finish line. The Golden Eagles would score just three points in the final 3:47 of play.
Howard finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds for Potsdam. Hannah posted a double-double for Brockport with 23 points and 12 rebounds on the night. No other Golden Eagles broke double digits in the game. Jean-Baptiste would finish with just three points on the night.
Brockport was hosting ‘We Back Pat’ night, partnering with the Pat Summit Foundation to help raise money to fight Alzheimer’s disease. The team sported purple ‘Brockport Backs Pat’ shirts in warmups as well as selling shirts and accepting donations at the game.
The Golden Eagles will next be in action at home Saturday against Plattsburgh State.
