POTSDAM, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's basketball team overcame an eight-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter to top SUNY Potsdam, 46-41, in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action Friday night at Jerry Welsh Gymnasium.
 
After each team scored to open up the fourth quarter, Plattsburgh State netted 10 unanswered points, and a layup by freshman forward Taylor Clare (Peekskill, N.Y./Peekskill) gave the Cardinals a 34-32 advantage, their first lead since early in the third quarter. Potsdam tied the score at 34-all before a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Anna Thompson (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Spackenkill) handed Plattsburgh State a 37-34 edge, one it would not relinquish the rest of the game.
 
The two teams battled back and forth, and though Potsdam trimmed the gap to one on two occasions, senior guard Jax Miller (Argyle, N.Y./Argyle) came up big both times with a 3-pointer to counter. Her second trey gave the Cardinals a 43-39 lead with 1:14 remaining.
 
Potsdam cut the deficit in half with a jumper with 32 seconds left in regulation, and seconds later, the Bears fouled to send the Cardinals to the line. While Plattsburgh State missed both shots, freshman forward Frannie Merkel (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) came down with the offensive rebound, and the Cardinals called timeout. Potsdam was forced to foul again, and Miller missed the front end of the two-shot trip to the line before making the second to make it a three-point game.
 
Perhaps the most important two plays of the contest came on the ensuing possession, as sophomore guard Bella DePasquale (Ardsley, N.Y./Ardsley) blocked a Bear 3-pointer out of bounds before Merkel corralled a defensive rebound following a second missed trey by Potsdam. The Bears fouled Miller with 10 seconds to go in regulation, and Miller sank both at the line to put the game on ice.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 10-12 overall (6-10 SUNYAC) with the win and next hosts Middlebury College on Tuesday, Feb. 14, at 7:30 p.m. in its final home game of the regular season. The victory kept the Cardinals in the chase for the sixth and final spot in the SUNYAC Tournament, as they are just a half-game back of The College at Brockport. Potsdam falls to 2-19 overall (1-15 SUNYAC) with the loss and next hosts SUNY Canton on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 7 p.m.
 
It took 3:59 for Merkel to open scoring, and following a Potsdam free throw and layup, Plattsburgh State closed the first quarter with eight unanswered points, and a DePasquale 3-pointer gave the Cardinals a 10-3 lead through one period of play.
 
The Bears clawed back in the second quarter with a 13-2 tear, and a layup by senior guard Abbey LaPage staked the home team to a 16-12 edge. Merkel and Clare each scored in the final 11 seconds of the quarter to knot the tally at 16-all heading into halftime.
 
While Merkel scored the first two points of the third quarter, Potsdam rode a 12-2 run to take a 28-20 lead. Though Thompson hit a pair of free throws to break up the scoring spree, senior guard Meghan Driscoll scored with 15 seconds left in the period to give the Bears a 30-22 cushion that they took into the fourth quarter.
 
Plattsburgh State shot 43.5 percent (10-of-23) from the floor in the second half to finish with a 30.4 percent (17-of-56) mark for the game, and the Cardinals limited the Bears to 23.2 percent (16-of-69) shooting from the field on the evening. Plattsburgh State finished with a 55-45 edge in rebounds, and both teams combined for 36 turnovers, 23 of which came from the Cardinals.
 
Merkel tallied her seventh double-double of the year in 20 minutes off the bench, as she notched game-highs in points (14) and rebounds (12). Miller tied Merkel for the game-high in points (14), while Thompson added 11 off the bench. Clare reeled in a double-digit total in rebounds for the third time this year with 10.
 
For Potsdam, sophomore guard Abbey Smith netted a team-high nine points off the bench, while senior forward Patti Dorgler pulled down eight rebounds.