Bulls Fall Despite Gritty Effort Against Chips, 89-81

Kourtney Brown finishes with 26 points and 11 rebounds

Kourtney Brown

MOUNT PLEASANT, MI – The University at Buffalo women’s basketball team may have put forth its grittiest effort of the season on Saturday, dressing just eight players against the league’s top offense. Despite falling 89-81 at Rose Arena, the eight UB players left it all on the court, recording its second highest point total of the season.

The Bulls got off to a quick start to the game, scoring the first six points of the contest, but Central Michigan got back into the game and took a lead with an 11-4 run. The two teams were tied up at 18 when CMU went on a 12-0 run to take a 30-18 lead. The Bulls continued to fight though and went into the half down nine at 46-37.

Dayna Smith

The Bulls began the second half on a 9-4 run to cut the CMU lead to four, and eventually tied the game up at 62 with 8:53 left on a three-point play from junior Dayna Smith. CMU responded by scoring the next six points to re-take the lead at 68-62. The Chippewas got the lead up to as many as 11 as the final five minutes of the game became a free throw shooting contest with both teams converting on their opportunities from the charity stripe.

UB was led by Kourtney Brown who scored a game-high 26 points, while pulling down 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. The 26 points was also her seventh 20-point game of the season. Brown went 10-for-12 from the charity stripe, shattering her career high from the line. She also added a game-high four blocks.

Jamie Schiebner

Sophomore Jessica Fortman added 17 points, eight rebounds and a block. Rounding out the double-figure scorers for the Bulls was senior Jamie Schiebner who added 12 points, five rebounds and a game-high five steals. Smith had seven points and a career-best six rebounds. The UB bench, which comprised of just three players, was productive as sophomore Bridgette Kendricks had eight points and six rebounds, with two steals and a block. Senior Rachelle Matthys tied her career high with four steals.

Central Michigan was led by 24 points from Angel Chan and 14 points and 13 rebounds from Kaihla Szunko.

The Bulls will return home next Saturday as they host Western Michigan at Alumni Arena. That game will start following the men’s ESPN2 contest against Toledo, which begins at 12:00 pm.