BUFFALO, NY – The Bengals women's basketball team fell in a hard-fought battle, 59–57, to the Hartwick College Hawks in double overtime.

GAME BASICS

FINAL SCORE: Hartwick College – 59, Buffalo State – 57
LOCATION: Sports Arena – Buffalo, NY
RECORDS: Buffalo State: 0-5 (0-0 SUNYAC), Hartwick College: 2-5 (0-0 Empire 8)

INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE

• Naya Haymon (Homewood, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor) led all scorers with a career high, 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting, while also leading the team with seven assists. Mya Brown (Buffalo, NY/Frontier) backed her up with a double-double, with 14 points and 11 rebounds.  
• On the glass, Imani McNeil (Schenectady, NY/Colonie) led the Bengals with 13 boards, while also finishing with a double-double with 12 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Returning to the Sports Arena after the Thanksgiving break, the Bengals welcomed the Hartwick College Hawks as they continued their search for their first win of the season.
• The Bengals fell behind early, as a 13–0 Hawks run put them up firmly in control. The Bengals responded by settling into an offensive rhythm late in the quarter, trimming the deficit to single digits heading into the second.
• The second quarter turned into a defensive grind, with points coming at a premium for both sides. Despite strong defensive stands, the Bengals saw the Hawks extend their lead and entered halftime trailing by double digits.
• Out of the break, the Bengals looked like a different team, locking down defensively, forcing turnovers, and converting in transition. A 6–0 run to close the third quarter propelled the Bengals to its first lead of the night, carrying a two-point advantage into the fourth.
• The Hawks opened the fourth with a 6–0 run to reclaim the lead, but the Bengals countered and kept the game neck-and-neck. In the final seconds, the Bengals delivered the tying basket to force overtime in the Sports Arena.
• In the first overtime, both teams continued to trade blows. With the Bengals up three in the final minute, the Hawks drained a clutch three-pointer to tie the game and send the matchup into a second overtime.
• The second overtime mirrored the first, with each side exchanging baskets until the Hawks gained a four-point edge. The Bengals cut the deficit to two, but couldn't find the equalizer, falling to the Hawks in a hard-fought, highly contested battle.

FOR THE FOES

• Emma Cohen led the Hawks with 18 points, with Yadira Smith finished with 15 points.

UP NEXT
The Bengals will look to their SUNYAC opener to secure their first win of the season, traveling to SUNY Potsdam on Friday, December 5^th to take on the Bears at 5:30 PM.