Potsdam, NY – Sophomore Bella Doyle hit three free throws down the stretch to clinch an overtime victory for the Clarkson University Women's Basketball team, as the Golden Knights outlasted Buffalo State 79-73 on Tuesday evening at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights evened their record to 2-2 on the season, while the Bengals fell to 2-3. Clarkson will return from the Thanksgiving break to host SUNY Potsdam next Tuesday.

Clarkson started off slow with struggles on regular possessions while the Bengals came out hot. Buffalo State scored the first seven points of the game and then continued to hit shots, opening up a 15-point lead late in the first quarter (21-6). The Knights righted themselves by scoring the final five points in the last 1:40 to get within 10 at the first break.

To start the second quarter, Cassidy Dumont and Raelin Burns hit free throws to put the Knights within six, and a jumper from Bella Doyle at the midway point of the period saw Clarkson pull within one (22-21). On the next possession, Cassidy Dumont hit two free throws to put Clarkson up for the first time in the contest, but the advantage was short-lived as Buffalo State jumped back out in front. The Knights appeared to have the lead heading into the locker room, but a buzzer beating jumper from Jadyn Jones fell in to give the Bengals a 30-29 advantage.

Each team began with some offensive issues at the start of the third, as the Knights went without a basket until a layup by Addie Kea at 5:49, but Buffalo State barely took advantage with only six points in the previous four minutes. The Bengals held the lead for the rest of the quarter, but that margin was just two after a basket from Emma Chamber with a minute left.

Buffalo State led by a handful of points at the start of the fourth, only to see Clarkson tie the game at 4:08. The Knights went ahead on a lefty layup by Cassidy Dumont with 1:05 left (65-64), however, each team hit enough free throws in the final 40 seconds to knot the game up at 66-66.

In overtime, Buffalo State scored the first four points, but then went scoreless for a stretch of over three minutes. In that time, Raelin Burns and Bella Doyle hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put Clarkson in the lead, and baskets from Kea and Dumont gave the Knights their largest lead of the game at six. Bella Doyle hit enough free throws in the last minute to keep the Bengals at a safe distance and the Knights held on for a six-point win.

Bella Doyle had a career-high 22 points and notched her first double-double of the season with an additional 12 rebounds in the win. She also blocked three shots. Raelin Burns produced 20 points and seven rebounds, Cassidy Dumont scored 16 and had eight boards, and Addie Kea chipped in 15 points. Emma Chambers and Elizabeth Aiossa also recorded nine and eight rebounds, respectively.

For Buffalo State, Tashawni Cornfield had a double-double on 11 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Xaneya Thomas had a team-best 16 points, going 8-for-13 from the floor, Maddy Stearns scored 15 points, and Emma Cohen added 11 points.