BROCKPORT, N.Y. – The College at Brockport Women's Basketball team came out of the gate strong on Tuesday evening in the Jim and John Vlogianitis Gymnasium but were unable to hang on to a fourth quarter lead, eventually succumbing to the Blue Devils of Fredonia in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) matchup 85-71.
Brockport (12-8 Overall, 8-5 SUNYAC) held the lead from the fifth minute in the first quarter all the way until the eighth minute of the fourth quarter, holding a steady multi point lead before Fredonia's height advantage took over. The Golden Eagles last held a 59-58 lead with 7:39 left but Fredonia outscored the Green and Gold 27-12 to close out the action.
The game quickly changed when Brockport's Olivia Suhr picked up her fourth foul in the closing seconds of the third quarter. Suhr was on her way to a dominating performance with 17 points and 13 rebounds to go along with three blocks. Suhr was a force down low both offensively and defensively giving Fredonia trouble at both ends of the court, when she picked up her fourth foul the Blue Devils immediately began attacking the senior forward.
Things went very smooth in the first half of play as the Green and Gold ran a balanced offense sharing the ball and finishing plays around the rim at high efficiency. Erin Cunningham played an extremely important role of keeping the Golden Eagles ahead in the first half shooting two-of-three from the floor, scoring seven points to go along with five rebounds and two assists. In the opening play of the second quarter Faith Welch dished the ball to Cunningham with the shot clock nearly expired. Cunningham drove towards the lane hitting a running jump shot from the free throw line that put Brockport ahead 22-16.
Fredonia scored the next two baskets cutting the Golden Eagle lead down to two points before Welch finished a fast break play started by Cunningham's defensive board. Sophomore Lindsay Johnson scored the next two buckets, the first coming on a good lead pass from freshman Schyler Laux and the second a fast break bucket set up by Laux's rebound and pass from Welch. Brockport's lead grew to 28-20 with 4:49 remaining causing the Blue Devils to call a timeout.
The two teams continued to trade points back and forth while Brockport's lead stretched to nine at times but the Blue Devils never let them get ahead by double digits. Welch hit a free throw with three seconds remaining to keep Brockport ahead at the half, 37-33.
Cunningham again found the basket in Brockport's opening possession of the third quarter. She gathered in an offensive rebound and immediately went up with the ball converting the shot while getting fouled in the process. She sank the free throw putting Brockport ahead 40-33 with 9:25 left in the third.
The Golden Eagles again stretched its lead to nine on a couple of baskets from Suhr but Fredonia went on a run midway through the quarter to pull within two points. Suhr responded by scoring nine of the next 12 total points in the game rebuilding Brockport's lead. She made a layup with less than one minute remaining in the third which put the Green and Gold up 54-46. The ensuing possession is when Suhr picked up her fourth foul and the Green and Gold lead quickly dissipated.
Welch led the team with 20 points, five assists and two steals. Freshman Hannah Spencer scored 13 points and Cunningham finished with a season high 10 points. Freshman Megan Anagnostopulos was two-of-two from the floor, both shots coming from downtown and she finished the game with seven points. Suhr picked up her fifth double-double of the season with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Brockport hits the road this weekend with two extremely tough conference matchups as they will face Oneonta on Friday at 5:30 p.m. and New Paltz on Saturday at 2 p.m. New Paltz and Oneonta currently sit atop the SUNYAC standings at one and two. Be sure to stay up to date on your Golden Eagle scores and awards by following @BportAthletics on Twitter and by liking the "Brockport Golden Eagles" Facebook page.
