CLINTON, N.Y.- Hamilton defeated SUNY Potsdam 63-43 in a non-conference matchup on Tuesday night. Hamilton held the Bears to 20.8 percent shooting in the second half and had Eliza Howe and Dani Feigin combine for 35 points.

The Bears started the first half on fire. Sophomores Hannah Kmiecinski and Jessica Kouzan hit back-to-back threes as Potsdam took an 8-0 lead. The lead wouldn’t last long as Hamilton answered later in the half with a 10-0 run to take a 22-14 lead with 6:43 remaining. Hamilton’s lead would balloon to 11 points but the Bears would cut stay close thanks to long range shooting. Potsdam shot 3-of-6 from behind the arc but turned the ball over 12 times. The Continentals were led by Dani Feigin who finished the half with 11 points as Hamilton took a 31-23 lead into the locker room.

Hamilton extended their lead with a 12-2 run coming out of halftime to push the lead to 43-25. Senior Sophie Parks layup at 13:38 was the first field goal of the half for the Bears as the Continentals defensive intensity picked up. The Bears cut the lead to 49-35 but that would be the closest they could get. Feigin’s three-pointer sparked a 9-3 run to put the game out of reach. The Bears were only able to manage 20 points in the second half on 5-of-24 shooting.

Hamilton outrebounded the Bears by a margin of 37-27 for the night and shot 40.7 percent. Eliza Howe finished with a game-high 18 thanks to her converting on 9-of-10 from the free throw line and Feigin finished with 17 points.

The Bears were led by Kouzan with 11 points and junior Adedoyin Akingba (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Midwood) grabbed eight rebounds. Potsdam shot 28.9 percent from the field.

Seventh-year Head Coach Tara Ruch was frustrated following the game.

“We keep beating ourselves,” said Ruckh. “We turned the ball over too much and got beat on the glass. We need to clean up our game.”

The Bears return to conference play on Friday night as they travel to Buffalo St. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m.