ROCHESTER, N.Y.—
Katie Villarini (Hamburg/Hamburg) hit a layup with 0.9 seconds remaining as Buffalo State survived a rally by Hilbert to record a 60-59 victory tonight to open the season at the Nazareth Mike Daley Memorial Tournament.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Buffalo State – 60, Hilbert - 59
LOCATION: Kidera Gymnasium (Nazareth College) – Rochester, NY
RECORDS: Buffalo State (1-0), Hilbert (1-2)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Villarini matched a team-high with 22 points, playing all 40 minutes, including hitting the game-winning bucket.
- Liv LeBaron (Corning/Corning East) also netted 22 points to go with five rebounds, but fouled out with two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
- After trailing 21-19 at halftime, Buffalo State pulled ahead by as many as 12 on three separate occasions in the third quarter.
- Hilbert clawed back to take a 55-54 lead on an old-fashioned 3-point play to set up a wild and sloppy final minute of play.
- A Villarini layup with 45 seconds remaining put Buffalo State ahead 56-55.
- Hilbert missed a pair of free throws on its next trip down the floor.
- Buffalo State returned the favor missing two of its own on the next trip but Olivia Grover (Montour Falls/Odessa-Montour) corralled an offensive rebound and then made 1 of 2 free throws to push the lead to 57-55 with 16 seconds remaining.
- Hilbert evened the score with a layup with nine seconds left, but then immediately fouled the Bengals under their own basket, which allowed Villarini to give the Bengals 58-57 lead hitting 1 of 2 free throws with eight seconds left.
- It was the Bengals turn to commit a foul on the floor away from the basket and Hilbert hit a pair of free throws with four second left, which set up Villarini's last-second winner.
- Buffalo State shot 51 percent from the floor, including 59 percent in the second half.
FOR THE FOES
- Taylor Corts led the Hawks with 26 points and eight rebounds.
- Emily Gawlak fnished with 17 points.
- Hilbert played just seven players and shot 37 percent from the field for the game, including going 2 of 17 from 3-point range.
UP NEXT
Buffalo State will face host Nazareth in tomorrow's championship game at 3 p.m.