NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team (17-2, 11-1 SUNYAC) took down SUNY Potsdam (1-18, 0-12 SUNYAC) in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) matchup on Friday at the Hawk Center. The win extends the Hawks' home winning streak to 15 games, dating back to last season.
 
Senior guard Kahsyrah Bryant (North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon) led the Hawks with 14 points and eight rebounds on the evening. Junior guard Alyssa Gratien (Syracuse, N.Y./Jamesville-DeWitt) netted 11, while freshman guard Christine Rivera (Long Beach, N.Y./Valley Stream) scored a career-high 10 points.
 
The game was tied at five when Potsdam's Katy Briedis drained a three at the 15:46 mark in the first half, but Bryant sank a layup at 14:52 to give the Hawks a lead they did not surrender. Gratien hit a layup with 1:54 to go to give the Hawks their biggest lead of the half at 16 points, but Margaret Wall also made a layup with three ticks left to cut the score to 34-20 in favor of New Paltz going into the intermission.
 
The Bears fought back in the second half, cutting the deficit to 10 at the 17:22 mark on Jessica Kouzan's layup, but that was as close as they would get. The Hawks led by as many as 24 with under seven minutes remaining, but eventually walked away with a 20-point victory.
 
Kouzan led all scorers on the evening with 16 points for Potsdam. She also pulled down five rebounds, while Katy Briedis picked up 10 points and Adedoyin Akingba grabbed a team-high six boards.
 
New Paltz shot 41 percent (25-of-61) from the field in the win, while Potsdam was held to 29.4 percent (15-of-51). The Bears held a slight edge from the free-throw line, making 13-of-19 (68.4 percent) attempts compared to the Hawks' 15-of-27 (55.6 percent).
 
The Hawks look to complete a perfect weekend tomorrow, Feb. 2, as they host SUNY Plattsburgh in a SUNYAC showdown. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. from the Hawk Center.