Canton, NY – The SUNY Canton women's basketball team battled from start to finish leading by as many as six points in the second half but a key run from visiting SUNY Potsdam down the stretch gave the Bears a 68-64 victory on Sunday afternoon at the Roos House.
SUNY Canton led 54-48 with 6:21 remaining after a pair of makes fromTaylor Saltus (Clintonville, NY) at the charity stripe. The Bears (1-2) used a 12-1 run over the next four minutes to take a 62-55 lead with 2:35 remaining.
However, the Roos (0-4) showed their mental toughness battling back to get within two after Logan Tallman (Heuvelton, NY) hit a three-pointer with 5.3 seconds remaining.
Taylor Saltus was 1 of 5 Roos in double figures with 11 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds.
The SUNY Canton defense came up big nearly forcing back-to-back five second violations as the Bears looked to inbound the ball. However, SUNY Potsdam Head Coach Tara Ruckh had a pair of timeouts left in her pocket to use. Carli Reynolds knocked down a pair of clutch free throws with four seconds remaining to help the Bears hold on for the 68-64 win.
Reynolds led all players with 24 points for Potsdam, while Bailey Weigel registered 14 points and Veronica Sapp added nine. SUNY Canton shot 43 percent from the field, while the Bears hit on 36 percent of their attempts. The Roos held a 39-34 edge on the glass and 33-20 advantage in points in the paint. The Bears received a big lift in bench points (17-2) and points off turnovers (23-13).
Potsdam led by five early but the Roos used a 5-0 run that included a basket inside from Tatiana Laroche (Elmont, NY) and a three-point play from Terrance to tie it at seven apiece. With the Bears leading 9-7 SUNY Canton rattled off eight straight points that included two points each from Terrance, Saltus, Fulton and Sayer.
Potsdam used a key 12-0 run that included three makes from behind the arc to lead by nine with 5:30 left in the opening period, but the Roos scored 11 of the final 14 points of the half as the Bears led by one at 31-30 at intermission.
The women's basketball team returns to action next Sunday, November 30th when they visit D'Youville College for a 2:00 p.m. tip. Stay up to date with the latest news directly from the SUNY Canton Athletics department by "liking" us on Facebook and "following" our Twitter, Instagram and YouTube accounts.
About SUNY Canton
SUNY Canton is Northern New York's premier college for career-driven bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and certificate programs. The college delivers quality hands-on programs in engineering technology, health, management and public service. Faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to outstanding academic credentials. SUNY Canton OnLine offers hundreds of flexible and convenient courses as well as eight exclusively online bachelor's degrees. The college's 14 athletic teams compete as provisional members of the NCAA Division III and the USCAA.