BUFFALO, NY – The Buffalo State women's basketball team couldn't hold on to a 17-point first half lead, as fifth-seeded Oneonta held the fourth-seeded Bengals to 18 second-half points in a 59-52 comeback win, in the first round of the SUNYAC Tournament Tuesday evening.
GAME BASICS
FINAL SCORE: #5 Oneonta –59, #4 Buffalo State – 52
LOCATION: Buffalo State Sports Arena – Buffalo, N.Y.
RECORDS: Buffalo State (14-11), Oneonta (14-12); Oneonta advances to SUNYAC Semifinal
INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE
- Katie Villarini (Hamburg, NY/Hamburg), playing in her final game as a Bengal, finished with 17 points, seven assists, and five rebounds.
- Tashawni Cornfield (Gowanda, NY/Putham) scored eight points.
- Heaven Rollek (Springville, NY/Springville-Griffith) also played in her final game in the Orange and Black, finishing with six points and a team-leading 10 rebounds and two steals.
- The Bengals shot 30.8 percent (20-of-65) from the field in the contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Bengals, guided by a large postseason crowd, scored 11 consecutive points to jump out to an 11-2 lead at the first media timeout.
- 3-pointers by Cornfield, Zavia Jamie (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford), and a Villarini buzzer-beater gave the Bengals a 22-7 lead after one.
- Villarini scored the Bengals' first five points of the second quarter, and a Cornfield jumper gave the hosts their largest lead of the game at 17 (29-12).
- Nadia Brown kept Oneonta in the game, as the point guard scored seven consecutive points, bringing the deficit to 10 near the midway point of the quarter.
- The Bengals held the Red Dragons at bay, as they led by 11 (34-23) at the half.
- Neither team scored in the first 2:30 of the second half, before Brown hit a runner and fed Meg Nardelli for a 3-pointer to bring the deficit to six.
- Oneonta outscored Buffalo State 17-9 in the third period, bringing the Bengal lead to just three (43-40) heading into the fourth.
- Rollek began the period with a jumper, but Olivia Dobrovosky scored twice and Molly Stephens converted on two free throws to give Oneonta its first lead (46-45) since scoring the opening basket of the contest.
- It was the beginnings of a 14-0 run, as the Red Dragons took a commanding nine-point, 54-45 lead with 3:29 to go.
- Grace Carey (Grand Island, NY/Grand Island) broke the drought with a layup in the paint to bring the deficit to seven, then Villarini and Rollek scored to bring the deficit to three, at 54-51 with 31 seconds to go.
- Brown then came to the line on the ensuing intentional foul, making the first but missing the second free throw.
- Dobrovosky grabbed the offensive board, then split a pair of free throws to give Oneonta a five-point lead with 12 seconds left.
- Brianna Smith (Oakfield, NY/Oakfield) split a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession, before Oneonta responded with three more free throws in the final nine seconds for the final margin.
FOR THE FOES
- Brown led Oneonta with 17 points and five rebounds.
- Jenna Harclerode added 11 points and 12 rebounds.
- Dobrovosky added 10 points and eight rebounds.
- Amanda Zuntag led the Oneonta defense with 12 rebounds and four blocked shots.
- Oneonta shot 35.4 percent (23-of-65) from the field in the contest, and outrebounded the Bengals by a 50-40 margin.
NOTABLES
- Villarini finished her Bengal career with 1,491 points, second-most all-time behind only Arlene Eagan '91 (1,699). Her 559 points this season were second-most all time, behind only Liv LeBaron's 587 points in the 2019-20 season.
- Villarini's 22.4 points per game is a Bengal season-record, surpassing the previous mark of 21.5 points per game set by Mary Delsignore in the 1991-92 season.
- Her 161 made free throws this season sets a Bengal record, and her 360 career made free throws shatters a 27-year old record.
- She also finished with 576 rebounds (13th all-time) and 175 3-pointers (second all-time).
