Senior guard Brittany Hedderson has been everything for the women's basketball team this year. She's been the playmaker, the scorer, the rock. The veteran led her squad onto the floor Wednesday night against Big Four rival Canisius hoping to bounce back after a disappointing five-game losing streak.
After being blown out at home against Wright State (5-3) by 27 points one week earlier, a rejuvenated Buffalo squad put the losing streak to rest as the Bulls (3-6) defeated Canisius (3-4), 62-57. The win came despite a 27-8 Canisius advantage in the all-time series.
The victory wasn't easy.
The Bulls would need to combat a strong Canisius front line featuring last year's Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, sophomore forward Jamie Ruttle, and the MAAC leader in field goal percentage, junior forward Ashley Wilkes.
Both teams got off to a rocky start, combining to shoot 7-for-29 from the floor midway through the first half. The shooting woes continued throughout the half, as Canisius grabbed a three-point advantage going into the locker room. The Bulls finished the half shooting a miserable 29.4 percent from the floor, but the Golden Griffins were unable to capitalize, and shot an even worse 28.1 percent.
Then the Brittany Hedderson show began.
After a solid nine-point first half, a determined Hedderson would go on to score 22 second-half points en route to a career-high 31. The outburst surpassed her previous career-best of 25 points, which came back on Dec. 17, 2009 against Youngstown State. She also added five rebounds, three assists, a block and two steals.
Hedderson needs just four points to become the 20th player in school history to score 1,000 points for her career.
"I think the accomplishment will be more of a reflection on my teammates rather than me," Hedderson said. "Since my freshmen year, I've always had the team's support and I have fallen into my role where my teammates create for me and get me the ball."
Hedderson opened up the second half connecting on a 3-pointer to even the score at 28 apiece. She then converted on a jumper to give the Bulls a two-point advantage. The Bulls nursed a 42-40 lead with 7:25 remaining when Hedderson connected on back-to-back 3-pointers, giving Buffalo an eight-point cushion. Hedderson was the only Bulls player to hit a 3-pointer on the night.
Despite Hedderson's exhilarating scoring exhibition, Canisius remained in the game behind clutch shooting from Ruttle. She also had a career night, finishing with a personal-best 20 points.
It wasn't enough.
The turning point came with 1:07 remaining when Hedderson nailed a clutch shot over her defender, giving the Bulls a 57-54 lead. An ensuing Canisius turnover led to another Hedderson bucket which put Buffalo up by five with 30 seconds to play.
Canisius guard Jen Morbito nailed a three to pull the Golden Griffins within two points when an intentional foul sent Buffalo sophomore guard Margeaux Gupilan to the line. She calmly swished two free-throws making it a two-possession game.
It was only fitting that Hedderson was fouled in the waning seconds of the game. She went to the line and sealed the deal for the Bulls.
"I am really proud of the effort our team came out with tonight," said head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald. "This win was really important for us because I think there were some games that we feel we let slip away and we can't get those back."
Hedderson also received a major contribution from her teammates, as Buffalo had four players finish in double figures in rebounding. The Bulls amassed 54 rebounds, which was their most in a game since grabbing 54 boards on Dec. 1, 2007.
Senior forward Beth Christensen and sophomore forward Nytor Longar both pulled down 10 rebounds respectively, while freshman forward Christa Baccas and senior guard Teresa Semalulu grabbed 11 boards each. Semalulu's 11 rebounds marked a career-best for the senior. Longar just missed a double-double with nine points, and she added a career-high four steals.
"Our rebounding down the stretch and our ability to take care of the ball allowed us to get a big win," Hill-MacDonald said. "But there is still room for improvement. We're still going to work on rebounding because we set a bar tonight at 54 rebounds, so we now know we can get over 50 rebounds a game."
The Bulls will hit the road and take on a powerful St. Bonaventure team (7-1) on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
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