WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

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Bulls Battle Past Bobcats, 67-63

Stephanie Bennett

ATHENS, OH – The University at Buffalo women’s basketball snapped a three-game losing skid with a hard fought 67-63 victory over Ohio, Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center. The Bulls forced 26 Ohio turnovers in the win and improved to 13-13 on the season and 6-7 in the MAC.

UB got off to a quick start in the contest as freshman Jessica Fortman (Ashland, KY/Russell) scored the first three points of the game on a conventional three-point play. After Ohio scored it first bucket, senior Stephanie Bennett (Springfield, OH/Kenton Ridge) converted on a three of her own to give UB a 6-2 lead. From there Ohio would go on a 12-3 run to take its largest lead of the game at 12-9. The Bulls went on to score the next four points and regained the lead on a jumper from Heather Turner (West Seneca, NY/Mount Mercy Academy). The score would eventually be tied at 16-16, but junior Dortae Freeman (Detroit, MI/Cass Technical) broke that tie with a three to put UB ahead with 7:36 left in the half. The Bulls got their lead up to as many as six on a three from Bennett, but Ohio converted on a bucket as the Bulls took a 28-24 lead into the half.

Heather Turner

UB increased its lead in the second half as Bennett and Fortman came out hitting back-to-back three pointers to put the Bulls up by 10. Ohio cut the lead to five before UB went on a 14-4 run to take its largest lead of the game at 15. During that run Turner had four straight layup opportunities and contributed eight points, including the two that gave UB the 15-point lead. The Bobcats began to chip away as they used a quick 10-0 run to get within five with 10:14 left in the half. Ohio would eventually get the lead down to four, but freshman Tieara Jones (Youngstown, OH/Rayen) converted on a big three pointer to put UB up seven with 8:03 left. Ohio would get as close as three points on three separate occasions, but the Bulls seemed to have an answer every time. The final time was with 25 second left, but Bennett and Jones combined to hit three free throws and all Ohio could managed was a layup at the buzzer.

The Bulls were led by 18 points from Bennett who went 4-for-8 from behind the arc. Bennett also added game highs with seven rebounds and five assists. Turner, who had just two points at halftime, finished with 15 points and five rebounds. Freeman tied a career high with her 11 points as she also had five rebounds and finished with a game-high four steals. Fortman finished with eight points and three assists, while Jones had seven points off the bench. Sophomore Ashley Zuber (Schnecksville, PA/Parkland) had six points and four assists.

Dortae Freeman

As a team UB finished 7-of-12 from three point range, while they allowed Ohio to convert on just 4-of-19 from three. The Bulls also forced 26 Ohio turnovers as they finished with 12 steals.

The Bobcats were led by 18 points from Jennifer Bushby and 12 points from Lauren Kohn.

“I thought we got out and defended the three much better than we had in the last few games,” said head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald. “We had a little bit of a different strategy out there and I think it worked well. We played determined out there and came out with a hard-fought win.”

The Bulls will return home this Wednesday night as they host the Akron Zips. The Bulls and Zips are set to tip off at 7:00 pm at Alumni Arena.