NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – Strengthened by the scoring efforts of junior forward Alex McCullough (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) and junior guard Maliqua Fisher (North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon), the State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team (11-8, 9-3 SUNYAC) defeated conference opponent SUNY Potsdam (4-15, 2-10), 86-65, in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play Tuesday night at the Hawk Center.

McCullough scored a game-high 23 points on a 9-of-12 shooting night, including a 3-of-3 performance from beyond the arc. She also filled the stat sheet with four rebounds, one assist, a block and a steal. Fisher was close behind, totaling 21 points on a 10-of-11 shooting night, with 12 of those points coming on fastbreak opportunities. Fisher also contributed a game-high seven steals, falling two short of her personal record of nine, achieved three weeks prior against the same Potsdam team in a 70-52 victory. Senior forward Shanay Bradley (Bronx, N.Y./New Explorers) also contributed a double-double, scoring 10 points and controlling 11 rebounds.

The Bear scoring attack was led by Chenice Russell (11 points), Kaley Arsenault and Katy Briedis (10 points apiece). Hannah Kmiecinski, Sophie Parks and Adedoyin Akingba each had four rebounds for Potsdam, with Kmiecinski also contributing three steals. Akingba and Colleen McNamara led all players with four assists each.

The Hawks attempted to put away the game in the first three minutes after tip-off, rattling off 10 unanswered points and four forced turnovers thanks to a zealous press defense. Fisher and McCullough each scored twice on the run in addition to a Bradley bucket. The lead was extended to 14 points by the 15:18 mark in the first half, causing Potsdam to take its second timeout of the game to attempt to regroup.

The Bears closed the deficit to seven points in the first half, down 24-17 with 4:54 remaining in the first stanza. McCullough promptly responded to the Bear resurgence with a three-pointer, but Potsdam held tough for the remainder of the period, going on a 4-0 run at the end the half off of free throws by Akingba and Bailey Weigel, sending both teams to the locker rooms with the Hawks only holding a six point lead, 31-25.

New Paltz's defense pressure returned early in the second half. Starting with 17:30 remaining in the game, New Paltz stole the ball from Potsdam on four out of five Bear possessions, leading to Hawk baskets on each occasion and a 44-31 lead with 16:15 to go. The Hawks wound up forcing a total of 28 turnovers on the night.

A block not long after by senior guard Caitlin Irwin (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) also led to a quick jumper from McCullough, extending the lead to 15 points. The Hawks soon reached a 20-point lead which rarely dipped back below 20 for the remainder of the game. The Bears got as close as 19 in the late stages of the game, but eventually acquiesced to an 86-65 defeat.

The Hawks shot 47.3 percent on the night (35-of-74), bolstered by their 22-of-41 shooting in the second half for a 53.7 percentage. New Paltz also managed to shoot 45.5 percent behind the arc, going 5-of-11, highlighted by hitting four of its five attempts in the second half. The Bears did not shoot poorly, going 24-of-51 from the field for a 47.1 percentage, but struggled to possess the ball against the New Paltz defense.

New Paltz next travels to SUNY Geneseo on Friday, Feb. 3, for a 6 p.m. tip-off, beginning its second-to-last road trip of the SUNYAC season. The next day, Saturday, Feb. 4, New Paltz travels to The College at Brockport for a 2 p.m. clash.