BROCKPORT, N.Y. – The College at Brockport Women's Basketball senior class demonstrated its grit on Saturday afternoon in the regular season finale, clinching a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament bid after beating Potsdam 53-40 while getting a little help from Geneseo who defeated Plattsburgh moments before the Golden Eagles victory clinched its first playoff berth since the 2010-11 season.
Brockport (13-12 Overall, 9-9 SUNYAC) also finished with its first winning season since 2008-09 in the process of clinching the sixth and final seed of the SUNYAC tournament. Fredonia defeated New Paltz Saturday afternoon, clinching the No. 3 seed and will be Brockport's host on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
In a tough defensive battle, Brockport needed the first nine minutes of play before taking a lead it wouldn't relinquish when Megan Anagnostopulos sank two free throws. Alyssa Wagner added to the total when Schyler Laux found the forward just inside the arc for a long range jumper putting Brockport ahead 10-6 to end the opening quarter of play.
The second quarter seniors Marissa Pike and Olivia Suhr stole the show. The two combined for three consecutive baskets. Pike found the senior forward back-to-back possessions for points in the paint before taking on the shooting role herself, knocking down a three with an assist credited to Hannah Spencer.
Spencer gave the Green and Gold a double-digit lead following a defensive rebound from Faith Welch. Welch sprinted down the court with the ball as Potsdam's defense attempted to keep up. The defense collapsed on Welch as she approached the paint leaving little room to bounce a pass. Welch found the little space and perfectly bounced a pass to Spencer who banked in an uncontested layup. Brockport held a 19-8 lead following the fast break points with more than six minutes to go in the second.
Brockport continued to grow its lead to as many as 16 point differential before a mini Potsdam run cut the Golden Eagle advantage to nine at the half, 26-17. Brockport scored seven of the first nine points in the third quarter, enlarging its lead to 33-19.
Minutes later Potsdam appeared to be making a run at the Green and Gold lead when a three point Bears play cut Brockport's lead to six. However Pike found an open corner and nailed a three pointer on the following possession. After the trey, Potsdam struggled to inbound the ball and sent an errant pass to Alyssa Rusinko. Rusinko scooped the ball up before getting plowed into by the opposition, drawing a foul. She sank two free throws.
Jenna Lividini knocked down a three pointer with two minutes left in the third which put Brockport ahead 41-27. Pike closed out the quarter with a contested last second fast break lay in.
During the opening two minutes of the fourth, Becky Rossier and Pike combined to make three-of-five free throws which gave the Golden Eagles its largest lead of the game. Brockport led 46-27 after Pike sank her second consecutive free throw.
Potsdam did its best to smother the fire but was unable to get the Green and Gold lead lower than 11 in the fourth.
In a true team-like fashion Brockport had multiple leaders in varying categories. Suhr led the team with 17 points, six defensive rebounds and a blocked shot. Erin Cunningham was the team leader in rebounds as the senior forward was all over the court especially on the offensive end securing eight offensive boards. In total she corralled 13 rebounds while also chipping in four points. Pike was the only other Golden Eagle to top double-digit points scoring 10 altogether while tying for the team lead in assists with Spencer as the two had three apiece. Pike also contributed a team-leading two steals.
Brockport will travel to face No. 3 seed Fredonia on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Geneseo (1), New Paltz (2), Cortland (4) and Oneonta (5) were the other teams to secure playoff berths. Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Golden Eagle scores and awards by following @BportAthletics on Twitter and by liking the "Brockport Golden Eagles" Facebook page.