Consolation BoxBUFFALO, NY—Buffalo State (2-0) used a fast start to the second half and held on for a 66-63 victory over Ohio Wesleyan (1-1) to capture the crown its own Betty Abgott Invitational today at the Buffalo State Sports Arena. Hamilton (1-1) defeated Thiel (0-2) in the consolation game, 62-49.
Brittnee Perry (Buffalo/Hutch Tech) scored a team-high 15 points and made a pair of critical free throws late to lead Buffalo State. Freshman
Keyonte Edwards (Buffalo/O'Hara) had 13 points and nine rebounds in her second collegiate game.
Ashley Wallace (Lockport/Starpoint) added 11 points, 11 rebound and three steals, and
Olivia Luciani (Syracuse/E. Syracuse-Minoa) chipped in 11 points.
Sarah McQuade (Dublin, OH/Coffman) led OWU with 18 points to go with six rebounds, four assists and five steals. Taylor Dickson (Baltimore, OH/Liberty Union) had 13 points and 11 boards, while Emily Julius (Avon, OH/Avon) added 10 points, and LaNiece McRae (Youngstown, OH/Chaney) had nine points and 10 rebounds.
The first half featured seven lead changes and ended exactly as it started, tied at 31-31. Buffalo State nailed three 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the second half and quickly pushed its lead to 12 points at 48-36. OWU put together a late 10-2 run to cut into the deficit and eventually took a lead at 63-62 with just 1:22 remaining. Edwards answered with a layup to reclaim the Bengals lead, and after a defensive stop, Perry made two free throws with just six seconds remaining. The Battling Bishops attempted a desperation 3-point attempt to tie the score that sailed off the mark.
OWU outscored the Bengals in the paint, 40-26, but Buffalo State had a 12-3 scoring advantage from beyond the arc. OWU was just 1 of 11 from long range. The two teams combined to make 56 trips to the free-throw line, as Buffalo State was 20 of 27, and OWU finished 18 of 29.
Sam Graber's (Roseland, NJ/Gill St. Bernard's) double-double led Hamilton to victory in the consolation game as she tallied 22 points and 14 rebounds. Serena Ward (Fairfield, IA/Fairfield Community) chipped in 11 points for the Continentals.
Jaclyn Watkins (Aliquippa, PA/Aliquippa) was the lone player scoring in double-figures for Thiel with 14 points and she added six rebounds.
Hamilton never trailed, leading 33-23 at the intermission and stretched the advantage in the second half. The Continentals were 17 of 21 at the free-throw line, while Thiel was just 5 of 14. The Tomcats could not overcome 17 turnovers, as Hamilton committed just 11 miscues.
Tournament MVP: Ashley Wallace (Buffalo State)
All-Tournament Team: Brittnee Perry (Buffalo State), Sarah McQuade (OWU), Taylor Dickson (OWU), Sam Graber (Hamilton), Jaclyn Watkins (Thiel)
