By: Ricky Webster
Box Score
FREDONIA, N.Y.—The Fredonia State women's basketball team, in a four-way battle for the final two spots in the SUNYAC playoffs, dropped a home contest against Potsdam, 55-52, Friday night.
The Blue Devils entered the game with four wins, tied with Brockport and Plattsburgh. The loss drops the Devils to 4-13 in the conference. Potsdam put itself into playoff contention with the win, moving to 3-14 in the conference.
In a defensive battle, the two teams combined for 53 turnovers. Fredonia State finished the game with 16 steals while Potsdam had 14.
Potsdam's largest lead came at the 11:49 mark in the second half when they took a 42-33 advantage. The Blue Devils battled back and eventually took the lead by two on a Grace Moore lay-up with 4:00 to play.
Potsdam took back the lead for good on a three-point basket Aimee Kellicutt with just over a minute to play and a last-second three-point shot by Caroline Hourihan to tie the game fell short. The Bears took the win to make a case for their spot in the playoffs.
Moore led the way for the Blue Devils with 17 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the field, including 3 of 5 from behind the arc. The Blue Devils out-rebounded the Bears 40-31 in large part to 11 rebounds by Liz Wierbinski, seven on the offensive end.
Potsdam's top playmaker for the season, Kellicutt paced the Bears with 18 points and five steals.
Both Brockport and Plattsburgh dropped their SUNYAC contests Friday night as well, keeping them in a three-way tie with the Blue Devils. Potsdam remains one game out. All four teams are in action again tomorrow, with Plattsburgh traveling to Steele Hall to take on the Blue Devils with the winner guaranteeing a spot in the playoffs.
