The Bulls set a program record for most wins in a season with their 81-51 win over the Kent State Golden Flashes at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center Wednesday night.
Buffalo got strong performances on the road from senior guard Stephanie Reid and junior guard Cierra Dillard. Reid had 11 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists while leading the Bulls at the guard position. Dillard lead the game with 17 points shooting 6-of-12 and having 4 steals.
The Bulls (24-4, 15-2 Mid-American Conference) remain second in the MAC, sitting one game behind the Central Michigan Chippewas (24-4, 16-1 MAC) with one game left in the regular season.
The games started with the Golden Flashes (12-17, 5-12 MAC) implementing a 1-3-1 scheme effectively. Despite giving the Bulls trouble, they couldn’t stop Buffalo from taking a 21-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. Junior guard Autumn Jones had 11 points in the quarter and shot a perfect 4-of-4 with 3 of those coming from beyond the three-point line.
The second quarter saw the Flashes continue to use the 1-3-1 with mixed success. They managed to stay in the game with solid defensive and rebounding efforts while controlling the Bulls in transition. But the Flashes could not chip away at the Bulls lead as the Bulls lead 36-28 at halftime.
Three minutes into the third quarter and the Bulls started to run away with it. Reid commanded the offense in the quarter as they outscored the Golden Flashes 26-8. The Bulls were able to break down the 1-3-1 scheme, getting the Golden Flashes to play a faster pace. From there Buffalo began to streak, playing fast offense in transition to expand its lead to 62-36.
The fourth quarter saw more of the same as the Bulls kept applying pressure to break the
Golden Flashes’ defense. The Bulls outscored the Golden Flashes 45 to 23 in the second half.
The Bulls play the final regular game of the season Saturday, against the Bowling Green Falcons (10-17, 2-14 MAC) at Alumni Arena with tip off set for 2 p.m.
The sports desk can be reached at: sports@ubspectrum.com and @ubspecsports
