CORTLAND, N.Y.—Freshman Katie Villarini (Hamburg/Hamburg) scored 16 points including hitting two late free throws to help sixth-seeded Buffalo State seal a 54-51 road victory over No. 3 Cortland in a SUNYAC quarterfinal matchup this evening.
 
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE:  Buffalo State – 54, Cortland - 51
LOCATION: Corey Gymnasium - Cortland, N.Y.
RECORDS: Buffalo State (13-13), Cortland (15-11)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Villarini finished 9 of 10 at the charity stripe and added four assists and six rebounds in 40 minutes played.
• Liv LeBaron (Corning/Corning East) added 12 points, while Caleh McLean (New Rochelle/New Rochelle) chipped in nine points and nine rebounds.
• Cortland jumped out to an early 9-0 lead and led 18-12 at the end of the first quarter.
• Buffalo State used a 9-0 run of its own to open the second period and scored the final five points of the first half to take a 28-25 edge into the break.
• The Bengals would never trail in the second half, but Cortland rallied to erase an eight-point deficit and even the score at 43-43 with just under six minutes remaining. 
• McLean answered on the next possession with a second-chance bucket and the Bengals were able to hold on the rest of the way.
• A LeBaron layup with 2:22 remaining pushed the Bengals lead to five at 52-47. 
• Buffalo State would turn the ball over on its next four possessions, but the Red Dragons only mustered 1 of 2 free throws plus a layup to cut the margin to 52-50.
• Villarini knocked down a pair of free throws with 14 seconds remaining to push the lead to four.
• Cortland drew a foul with 10 seconds left and hit the first of two free throw attempts before securing the offensive rebound on the missed second attempt.  The Red Dragons launched a pair of 3-point attempts, including one at the buzzer, but both sailed off the mark.
• Buffalo State shot just 32 percent for the game, while Cortland only hit 27 percent from the field. 
• The Bengals outscored the Red Dragons 21-12 from 3-point range, which proved to be the deciding factor once again.

 
FOR THE FOES

• Kristy Vitucci led Cortland with 18 points, and Shana Crespo added 13 points and nine rebounds.
• Justine Crespo finished with eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

 
NOTEWORTHY

• Buffalo State's 13 wins are the most in a season for the program since 2013-14.
• The victory is the Bengals' first in the postseason since winning twice to advance to the SUNYAC title game in 2012.

 
UP NEXT
Buffalo State will take on No. 2 Oneonta in the SUNYAC semifinals hosted by top-seeded Geneseo on Friday at 5:30 p.m.  Geneseo will host the winner of No. 5 Brockport/No. 4 New Paltz in the other semifinal at 7:30 p.m.   The title game will also be played in Geneseo on Saturday at 4 p.m.