Bulls Season Ends With Loss To Toledo

Kourtney Brown records first career double-double

Kourtney Brown

CLEVELAND, OH – The University at Buffalo women’s basketball team saw its 2006-07 season come to an end on Sunday with a 64-49 loss to Toledo in the first round of the MAC Tournament at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH. With the loss, UB finishes its season with a 10-19 record.

The two teams played close in the first half as UB took its only lead of the game on back-to-back three pointers from junior Stephanie Bennett (Springfield, OH/Kenton Ridge) with 9:31 remaining in the first half. From there Toledo would end the half on a 17-5 run and take a nine-point advantage into the half.

In the early moments of the second half, it looked like UB would make a run as it held Toledo scoreless for the first four minutes of the half. Sophomore Rachelle Matthys (St. Clair, MI/St. Clair) hit a layup to pull UB within four points. However, six quick points from the Rockets gave Toledo a 10-point advantage. The Bulls pulled within six on three separate occasions, but never got any closer. UB was forced to foul to stay in the game, but the Rockets hit their free throws late, converting on 22 of their 33 attempts from the line.

“This was certainly a disappointing loss for us,” said head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald. “We haven’t been outrebounded like that all season and free throw shooting also hurt us tonight. Their ability to get to the line and convert on their opportunities is where they won the game tonight.”

Rachelle Matthys

The Bulls were led by 16 points from Matthys, who converted on three treys in the game and she also had four rebounds and four assists. Junior Heather Turner (West Seneca, NY/Mount Mercy Academy), one of many Bulls in foul trouble through out the night, had 13 points and six rebounds. Freshman Kourtney Brown (Solon, OH/Solon) recorded her first career double-double off the bench with 10 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Bennett ended the evening with six points and six rebounds.

As a team, the Bulls shot just 30.6 percent on the evening, including 25.8 percent in the first half. After shooting slightly better than Buffalo in the first half, Toledo converted on 47.4 percent of its shots in the second half.

The Rockets were led by 14 points and 14 rebounds from Diana Reindl and 13 points from Allie Clifton. Danielle Bishop added 11 points, including six from the foul line. With the victory, Toledo advances to face top-seeded Bowling Green in the quarterfinals.

The 10 wins by the Bulls this season tie their total from last year as do their five conference wins on the year.

03/04/2007