Bulls Drop Heartbreaker In MAC Opener

Dayna Smith has a career-high 17 points

Dayna Smith

BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo women’s basketball team led for most of Wednesday night’s Mid-American Conference opener, but a feisty Ohio Bobcat team forced overtime and walked out of Alumni Arena with an 84-81 victory. The Bulls had four players in double figures for the night, including a career-high 17 points from junior Dayna Smith.

The Bulls had one of their finest offensive performances in the opening 20 minutes, taking a 40-27 lead into the half. Tied at 27-all, the Bulls went on a 13-0 run over the final 4:10 of the half, including a steal and a fast break layup from Smith in the final seconds of the half.

In the second half, the Bulls got their lead up to as many as 14 points on a three pointer from Jessica Fortman with 17:07 left in the second half. However, Ohio went on an 18-4 run over the next six and a half minutes to tie the game up at 51-51. The Bulls would eventually go back ahead by six with 3:34 left as Smith hit a free throw, but Ohio went on to score eight of the next 10 points. The Bobcats eventually took a two-point lead with a minute left, but Fortman tied it up on a layup with 47 seconds to go. Each team had one final possession in the second half, but neither team converted, forcing overtime for the Bulls for the second time this season.

Jessica Fortman

In the extra session, the two teams traded baskets early on as the score was tied at 74 with 3:11 left. The Bobcats went on to score the next three points, before a layup by Dortae Freeman cut Ohio’s lead to one. From there, Ohio’s Jenny Poff hit a huge three with 1:54 left, giving Ohio a four-point lead. The Bulls were able to get within one once more as Fortman hit a three with under two seconds left, but Ohio converted on two Jennifer Bushby free throws with four-tenths of a second left and the Bulls were unable to get off one final shot.

The Bulls were led by 19 points from Fortman, who went 8-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-5 from behind the arc. She also added eight rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots. Smith eclipsed her old career high of nine points with her 17-point performance, adding two rebounds, two assists and a career-high five steals. Senior Jamie Schiebner added a season-high 17 points, with five rebounds, five assists, a block and five steals. Redshirt sophomore Kourtney Brown also finished in double figures with 10 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. More importantly, Brown went a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Freshman Brittany Hedderson added four assists off the bench.

Jamie Schiebner

The 81 points scored by the Bulls was their second highest point total of the season and the eight blocked shots were a season high.

Ohio was led by 26 points from Poff and 19 points from Lauren Hmiel, who added a game-high 10 rebounds.

The Bulls are back in action this Saturday when they travel to Akron to take on the Zips. Tip off is set for 2:00 pm.