CORTLAND, NY – Cortland went on big runs in the second and third quarters, overwhelming the Buffalo State women's basketball team as the Bengals saw a season-best, five-game win streak come to an end to the Red Dragons by a 97-66 score Friday evening. With the result, Cortland clinched the regular season title, while the Bengals earned the fourth seed and a home date with fifth-seeded Oneonta, regardless of the result in the season finale Saturday.
 
GAME BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Cortland –57, Buffalo State – 52
LOCATION:  Corey Gymnasium – Cortland, N.Y.
RECORDS:  Buffalo State (14-9, 11-6 SUNYAC), Cortland (19-4, 15-2)
 
INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE

• Katie Villarini (Hamburg, NY/Hamburg) finished with 18 points, adding five rebounds and a career-high three blocked shots.
• Taylor James (Buffalo, NY/Frederik Law Olmstead) added 11 points off the bench, shooting 5-of-9 from the field.
• Tashawni Cornfield (Gowanda, NY/Putham) scored 10 points and brought down five rebounds.
• Awen Kuethping (Syracuse, NY/Henninger) tallied a career-best seven points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field.
• The Bengals shot 38.3 percent (23-of-60) from the field and tallied 15 points off of Red Dragon turnovers.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• It was a good start for the Bengals, as Villarini scored seven of the team's first nine points, jumping out to a 9-3 lead.
• A 10-0 Cortland run gave the hosts a four-point, 13-9 lead at the first media timeout.
• The Bengals fought back, tying the game at 17 on a Villarini trey, but Casey Travers finished the period with five points in 43 seconds, as Cortland led 22-17 after one.
• That run continued into the second period, as Cortland opened a double-digit lead after a 12-5 spurt.
• With Cortland holding a 15-point, 39-24 lead, the visitors worked to reduce the deficit, going on a 6-0 spurt in a 43-second span.
• The Red Dragons pushed ahead once again, as they once again held a 15-point lead (48-33) heading into the half.
• The third quarter was all Cortland, as the hosts hit three consecutive treys, and five total, en route to a 26-10 advantage in the quarter.
• Cortland would stretch its lead out to as many as 34 points, before Taylor broke the Cortland run with a three-point play. The Red Dragons would hold 'State at bay over the final eight minutes, to earn the 31-point victory.

 
FOR THE FOES

• Maggie Malone led all scorers with 21 points, adding seven rebounds.
• Travers, Nyia Longford, and Shannon McGuire all added 16 points.
• Cortland shot 53.6 percent (37-of-69) from the field, hitting 15 3-pointers.

 
UP NEXT
The Bengals will finish the regular season with a trip to Brockport on Saturday, beginning at 2 p.m.