POTSDAM, N.Y.- The SUNY Potsdam women's basketball team's (1-20, 0-14) fell short against Oswego State (4-18, 2-13) with a score of 62-55. The Bears were led by senior forward Katie LaVoie (Malone, N.Y./Franklin Academy) with 20 points and eight rebounds for the game-high. Two Lakers recorded double-doubles, sophomore forward Zana Dillard (Rochester, N.Y./Rush-Henrietta) and junior guard Mary Mazzella (Peru/Peru).
Over the first 10 minutes of play, the teams were evenly matched with Oswego holding the five point advantage. At the start of the second quarter, freshman forward Victoria Shopovick (White Plains, N.Y./Maria Regina) made a layup at 9:16 mark, but the Lakers answered with a 6-0 run before LaVoie hit a jumper for two. Both teams went on a four minute drought from the floor until LaVoie drained a shot from behind the arch to get Oswego's lead down to four. The Lakers closed out the last three minutes with a 7-1 run to get out to their largest lead of 10 before junior forward Patti Dorgler (Floral Park, N.Y./Archbishop Malloy) drained a jumper with seven seconds left to bring the score to 34-26 at halftime. LaVoie scored seven points in the first quarter and another five in the second to lead the Bears.
Potsdam's offense exploded out of the gate following the break to lead Oswego 18-11 during the third quarter. LaVoie hit two more 3-pointers during the 10 minutes with one that tied the game 43-43 at the 2:05 minute mark. The Lakers followed with two made free throws before senior forward Veronica Sapp (Potsdam, N.Y./Potsdam) added one of her own to get the Bears within one with the final quarter to go. Junior guard Meghan Driscoll (Troy, N.Y./Troy) added five points during the third.
The Lakers answered in the fourth quarter with a 17-11 scoring advantage. At 8:20, Oswego started a 8-2 run that was capped with two free throws from senior guard Tayler Sorell (Hannibal, Hannibal) to get their lead out to seven with less than six minutes to play. Potsdam scored five straight points with a jumper from LaVoie, a layup from junior guard Laura Coleman (Manhattan, N.Y./Opportunity Charter) and a free throw from freshman guard Janay Smith (Bronx, N.Y./Wings Academy) to cut the Laker lead to two. The remaining 3:30 consisted of multiple trips to the foul line for Oswego totaling seven more points and a jumper from Mazzela. Smith and Driscoll each hit layups for Potsdam, but the clock ticked to zero before the Bears could catch up.
Driscoll added seven points, seven assists and six rebounds, while Smith finished with eight points. Dillard finished with 13 points and 11 board and Mazzela added 12 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Sorell compiled 15 points to lead the Lakers in scoring.
The Bears will honor their seniors tomorrow, Katie LaVoie, Laura Coleman and Veronica Sapp, before the start of the game against SUNY Cortland at 2 p.m.