BUFFALO, NY – The Buffalo State women's basketball team took down their 'Battle by the Lake' rival, the Fredonia Blue Devils, 69-64, at home in the Sports Arena.

GAME BASICS

FINAL SCORE: Buffalo State – 69, Fredonia – 64
LOCATION: Sports Arena – Buffalo, NY
RECORDS: Buffalo State: 3-14 (2-8 SUNYAC), Fredonia: 11-7 (6-5 SUNYAC)

INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE

• Morgan Popp (Tonawanda, NY/Sweet Home) led the Bengals with 14 points, going 5-9 from the field, while splashing home three triples from beyond the arc. Naya Haymon (Homewood, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor) scored 13 points in support.
• Amya Moore (Hudson, NY/Hudson) picked up her second double-double of the season, leading the Bengals with ten rebounds to go along with her ten points.
• As a team, the Bengals shot 41.0% from the floor, 28.0% from beyond the three-point line, and 52.2% from the free-throw line.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Closing out their longest homestand of the season, the Bengals looked to finish strong as they hosted the Fredonia Blue Devils in the 'Battle by the Lake' rivalry series.
• In the opening quarter, the Bengals fell behind after a 7-0 Blue Devils run in the early portion of the quarter. However, as play continued, the Bengals used strong defense to stifle the Blue Devils' offense and found their way back into this SUNYAC bout, trailing by only six points at the end of the first quarter.
• In the second quarter, both sides would trade baskets, with the Bengals fighting to stay within this game and the Blue Devils looking to gain a strong advantage. Another 7-0 run from the Blue Devils would give them a nine-point advantage over the Bengals, but a 10-0 run would answer the call for the Bengals to take their first lead of this matchup as both sides went into halftime.
• Exiting the halftime break, the Bengals looked to hold off a rush of momentum from the Blue Devils, hitting some tough but much-needed threes to hold onto their lead. After extending their lead to eight points, the Blue Devils kept the fight going to bring it back to a two-possession game, with the Bengals holding onto their lead into the fourth quarter.
• In the fourth, the intensity from both sides would pick up, as bodies began to hit the floor! After a surge from the Blue Devils chipped the Bengals' lead to only one point, the Bengals would fight their way to the basket and earn easy baskets from the free-throw line. As time ticked away, the Bengals would hold onto their lead, closing out the Blue Devils to score the first win of this 'Battle by the Lake' doubleheader.  

FOR THE FOES

• Payton Gilbert led the Blue Devils with a double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing ten rebounds, while Grace Alexander finished with 16 points.
• As a team, the Blue Devils shot 42.2% from the field, 21.7% from behind the three-point line, and 35.7% from the free-throw line.

UP NEXT
The Bengals will get a nice week off before returning to action next Friday when they travel to New Paltz to take on the Hawks at 5:30 PM.