BUFFALO, N.Y. –  The fourth-seeded Buffalo State women's basketball team looks to begin play in the SUNYAC Tournament this week, as the Bengals host fifth-seeded Oneonta in a First Round matchup on Tuesday.

The Bengals, nine-time SUNYAC champions, will host Oneonta on Tuesday from the Buffalo State Sports Arena, with tipoff beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door, and price will be $5 for adults and $3 for kids ages 5-12. Admission is free for students with a SUNYAC ID and for those ages four and under. There will be a food giveaway for all students attending, and fans are highly encouraged to "wear black" for the Tuesday contest.

Tuesday Links

Live Stats

Video

Last Week In Review

Buffalo State (14-10, 11-7 SUNYAC) finished the season with a win in three matchups against regular season champion Cortland and Brockport last week. The Bengals took down Cortland at home by a 65-58 score, before dropping both games this weekend on the road, falling at Cortland and Brockport.

Eye on the Bengals

• Offensively, Buffalo State is second in the conference in scoring, averaging 65.4 points per game.
• Defensively, the Bengals lead the league in defensive rebounding (31.8 rebounds per game), are third with 9.3 steals per game, and fourth with 44.0 total rebounds per game. Buffalo State's opponents turn the ball over 18.3 times per game, second in the conference.
• The Bengals are 11-3 at home this season, having won the last seven games at the Buffalo State Sports Arena.
• Senior guard Katie Villarini (Hamburg, NY/Hamburg) leads the league in several categories among regular rotation players, including scoring (22.6 points per game), assists (4.7 assists per game), and assist to turnover ratio (1.9). She's also third in rebounds (7.6 rebounds per game) on the defensive end.
• During the Brockport contest on Saturday, Villarini passed Liv LeBaron '20 for second on the all-time scoring list, with 1,474 career points. She's also in the top-15 in rebounds (571).
• Tashawni Cornfield (Gowanda, N.Y./Putham) has been one of the best defenders in the SUNYAC, as she currently leads the conference in steals per game (3.0), and is fifth in rebounding at 7.5 per game. Offensively, Cornfield is fifth in scoring at 12.9 points per game.
• Adiya Jones (Washington, D.C./McKinley Technology) is third in both scoring (6.5 points per game) and rebounds (5.9 rebounds per game), while Brianna Smith (Oakfield, N.Y./Oakfield) has averaged 7.3 points per game over the last four games.

A Look Into The Dragon's Lair

• Oneonta enters the postseason with a 13-12 overall record and a 10-8 mark in SUNYAC contests.
• The Red Dragons swept both ends of a home weekend series, as they defeated Potsdam and Plattsburgh at home.
• Oneonta is 6-7 in road games this season.
• As a team, Oneonta is sixth in scoring (58.3 points per game) and fifth in scoring defense (57.4 points allowed per game).
• Molly Stephens leads the team in scoring at 10.8 points per game and steals with 1.9 per game.
• Olivia Dobrovosky is next with 9.8 points per game, and leads the team in rebounds with 7.0 caroms per game.

Playoff History

• Tuesday marks the ninth time that the Bengals and Red Dragons will meet in the postseason. Both teams have won four games each, including in 2020, when Buffalo State, also a fourth seed, defeated fifth-seeded Oneonta by a 61-50 score at the Sports Arena.
• The teams first met in the 1984 SUNYAC Tournament Championship game, where Buffalo State defeated Oneonta 63-62, the Bengals' first of nine championships.
• The Bengals have won the first game of the tournament in each of the last two postseason appearances (2020, 2018).
• This is the 15th postseason appearance for the Bengals since 2000.