POTSDAM, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team took home a 63-43 victory over host and State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) foe SUNY Potsdam on Friday evening.

New Paltz improves to 10-7, 7-4 SUNYAC and next plays SUNY Plattsburgh tomorrow at 4 p.m. Potsdam drops to 2-15, 1-11 SUNYAC and will host SUNY Oneonta tomorrow at 4 p.m.

Potsdam held the upper hand in field goal percentage, shooting 48.4 percent (15-of-31) while New Paltz shot 37.5 percent (21-of-56) but the Hawks held a 32-28 advantage in rebounds, converted 33 points off of turnovers and recorded 21 bench points.

Sophomore guard Lindsay Bettke (Pelham, N.Y./The Ursuline School) led the offensive charge with 16 points, converting 6-of-11 from the floor and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Senior guard/forward Kit Small (Slingerlands, N.Y./Academy of the Holy Names) finished the night with 13 points and a game-high five assists while sophomore guard Taylor Howell (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) pulled down a team-high six rebounds.

For Potsdam, freshman guard Drew Dufrane posted eight points while sophomore guard Abbey Smith chipped in seven points and seven rebounds in the loss.

The first quarter saw both teams remain neck-and-neck, eventually resulting in a 17-all score heading into the second period. The Hawks took hold of the lead off of an 11-2 run with 5:47 left in the half and continued to push ahead, outscoring the Bears 18-5, resulting in a 35-22 tally at intermission.

The Hawks extended their advantage by more than 20 points in the third stanza (55-22) but the Bears worked hard to trim the deficit, roping the score within 17 (58-41) with 2:16 remaining. However Potsdam was unable to catch up as time expired, sealing the final 63-43 victory for New Paltz.