Dec. 15, 2007
Final Stats
Contact: Greg Murphy
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Buffalo's Ashley Zuber hit a three-pointer with 27 seconds left to give the Bulls a four-point advantage and Buffalo held on for a 63-60 victory over Cleveland State in nonconference action on Saturday night in Alumni Arena.
A jumper from Stephaine Crosley with 1:04 to play sliced CSU's deficit to one point (59-58), but Zuber hit what proved to be the game-winning three-pointer following an offensive rebound by Bennett on the ensuing possession. Dominique Butler converted a jumper with 14 seconds to play and after Jamie Schiebner split a pair of free throws, CSU had a chance to tie the game, but Kailey Klein's three-pointer hit the front of the rim and Buffalo grabbed the rebound and ran out the clock.
CSU slipped to 3-5 with the loss, while Buffalo improved to 6-3. Both teams were coming off 10-day layoffs as neither team had played since Dec. 5.
"I wasn't worried about the long layoff," head coach Kate Peterson Abiad said. "We looked good in practice and the team was playing well together and had a lot of chemistry during practice.
"But we just were not sharp on offense or defense tonight," Peterson Abiad continued. "We couldn't get anything going on offense and missed a lot of easy opportunities. Our transition defense wasn't very good and we gave them way to many possessions and easy baskets. This is a very disappointing loss for us."
Brittany Korth and Klein led CSU with 12 points apiece, while Klein added five rebounds. Korth scored all her points from behind the three-point arc where she finished 4-of-8. Crosley added nine points and four rebounds off the bench, while Butler chipped in eight points, eight rebounds and three steals.
Zuber led the Bulls with 12 points, while Jessica Fortman finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. Heather Turner contributed eight points and a game-best 11 rebounds.
CSU started out of the gates quickly and took a 10-4 lead on a three-pointer from Angel Roque just five minutes into the contest. But the Bulls rallied throughout the first half and took their first lead of the contest (21-20) with 5:50 to play.
The Vikings responded with a run of their own and regained a six-point advantage (31-25) just 1:57 shy of halftime on a Butler jumper. A three-pointer from Flynn Pyykkonen on Buffalo's next possession cut the Bulls deficit to three points, but Roque sank a pair of free throws to push the CSU lead back to five with 28 seconds left in the first stanza.
Pyykkonen converted a layup with 19 seconds left and following a CSU turnover with six seconds to play, Stephanie Bennett hit an off balance three-pointer at the buzzer to send the teams into the locker room tied at 33-33.
The Bulls scored the first four points of the second half and would never trail in the final 20 minutes. However, Buffalo's largest lead was just five points at the 9:22 mark. CSU did manage to tie the score on three occasions, but could never take a lead.
"We've got to come out tomorrow and have a good practice and then respond with a good effort on Monday," Peterson Abiad said. "Everyone in the locker room is disappointed and knows we missed out on a good opportunity tonight."
CSU has little time to dwell on the loss as the Vikings are scheduled to return to action on Monday (Dec. 17) night with a 7:00 p.m. contest at Niagara.
