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Bulls Come Back To Win MAC Opener Against Miami, 62-57

Jessica Fortman

“It was a very hard game, but a very fun game,” said head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald. “Neither team shot the ball well early and it was defensive battle. I thought our rebounding at the end was tremendous, not giving Miami second opportunities. I am very proud of these players because they had to work hard for the victory tonight.”

The first half was a struggle for both teams as neither was able to find their scoring touch. Miami (OH) managed just four points during the first 11 minutes of action, but UB was unable to pull away, scoring just 10 and leading by six. The Bulls managed to take their largest lead of the game in the first half, going up by seven on a fast-break layup from sophomore Dayna Smith (Garfield Heights,OH/Trinity) at the 3:22 mark. From there the RedHawks went on a 10-2 run to go into the half up 22-21.

Heather Turner

Miami (OH) went on to score the first seven points of the second half, but back-to-back buckets from Schiebner knocked the RedHawk lead to four. The Bulls would get the Miami lead to as little as two as senior Stephanie Bennett (Springfield, OH/Kenton Ridge) hit two threes in a row and cut the Miami lead to 37-35 with 11:30 remaining. The RedHawks then scored the next seven points and had their largest lead of the game at 44-35 with 9:57 to go in the game. UB responded by going on a 14-2 run over the next three minutes. Freshman Jessica Fortman (Ashland, KY/Russell) had four points during that run, including the layup that put UB ahead. The two teams then traded the lead back and forth a few times before the RedHawks got the advantage with 2:55 left on a layup from Amanda Jackson. Jackson was fouled and completed the three-point play, giving Miami a two-point edge. On UB’s next possession, with the shot clock winding down, Schiebner was able to convert on the fade away three-pointer to give the Bulls the lead with 1:38 remaining. After Jackson’s shot was blocked by Fortman with 47 seconds left the Bulls had the possession and Schiebner found a wide open Heather Turner (West Seneca, NY/Mount Mercy Academy) who converted on a layup to give UB a three-point lead with 19 seconds left. Miami’s Jenna Schone tried the game-tying three with eight seconds, but it was no good as Fortman took in the rebound. Fortman was able to get the ball to sophomore Ashley Zuber (Schnecksville, PA/Parkland), who was fouled with four seconds left. Zuber iced the game with a pair of free throws. The Bulls managed to shoot 52.2 percent from the floor in the second half, after shooting just 35.7 percent in the first half.

Jamie Schiebner

UB was led by double-doubles from Fortman and Turner as Fortman had 12 points, a career highs of 10 rebounds and five blocked shots. The double-double was the first of her career. Turner had 11 points and 10 rebounds, while going 5-of-8 from the charity stripe. Schiebner led the way for the Bulls with 13 points. She also had seven rebounds and two assists. Bennett added eight points, a season-high seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. Off the bench for the Bulls, Smith and freshman Tieara Jones (Youngstown, OH/Rayen) each had six points.

Bennett, Zuber and junior Dortae Freeman (Detroit, MI/Cass Technical) did a tremendous job defensively holding one of the top scoring duos in the country to an 11-for-34 performance. Jackson, who leads the MAC in scoring, had 19 points on 6-of-20 from the floor while Schone had 13 points on 5-of-14 from the floor. Schone did have a game-high six assists, while Laura Markwood had a game-high with 15 rebounds. Miami (OH), which fell to 8-7 on the year and 7-2 at home, was the top scoring team in the MAC entering the day, but the Bulls used a tremendous defensive effort and held the RedHawks to their second-lowest scoring game of the season, and their lowest total at home.

The Bulls will remain on the road as they travel to Akron on Saturday afternoon. Tip off with the Zips is set for 2:00 pm.