The 802 fans in attendance at Alumni Arena on Sunday for the UB women's basketball game got to see the Bulls do something they had not previously done all season: steal a win while trailing with five minutes left to go in the game.
With only 4:53 left to play, the Bulls were able to persevere and pull out a three-point victory over the Western Michigan Broncos, thanks to clutch shooting and defense by Kim Kilpela, Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe and Allison Bennett
A 73-70 defeat at the hands of the Bulls (13-9, 5-6 Mid-American Conference) puts the pressure on WMU (13-9,7-4 MAC), whose next two games are against MAC West Division leaders Toledo and Ball State.
UB was led by McMeeken-Ruscoe and Kilpela, who both had double doubles. McMeeken-Ruscoe had a game-high 22 points and added a season-high 11 rebounds. Kilpela had 15 points and 11 rebounds, five on the offensive end.
Broncos' star forward Kristin Koetsier, who missed her last eight games due to a knee injury, showed why she is one of the best inside forces in the MAC, drawing fouls and having her way with her defenders. The 6'3" junior had a team-high 21 points and six rebounds.
The game was not decided until the final minutes, during which the Bulls regained the lead they had lost early in the second half.
"The fact that we gutted it out, our kids never gave up, never died, they just continued to work hard ... that's the sign of a team that is turning the corner, and this is the time of year where we need to do that," said UB head coach Cheryl Dozier.
Western Michigan came out over the first three minutes of the second half on a 13-1 run and gave themselves a 40-30 lead with 17 minutes remaining. The Bulls fought long and hard to get back the lead they had lost, led - almost single-handedly - by McMeeken-Ruscoe and her terrific shooting down the stretch (four 3-pointers and 18 points total in the half).
UB tied the game at 66-66 on a free throw by Kilpela with only 1:39 left to play. Kilpela followed with a lay-up that gave Buffalo a 68-66 lead they would hold onto for the final minute of play.
McMeeken-Ruscoe and Bennett went 5-of-6 from the line in the last 37 seconds of play to hold off Western Michigan and give UB the victory.
"The key to the victory was turnovers; we had 13 in the first (half), only six in the second. We did a tremendous job on the offensive glass and distributed the ball extremely well. Overall, I'm extremely pleased with this victory," said Dozier.
The Broncos relied too heavily on their 3-point shooting to keep them in the game (4-11 in the first half, 2-10 in the second) and their difficulties scoring points in the paint, a category Buffalo led 40-24.
On the game, Buffalo out-rebounded Western Michigan 44-31, including 15 offensive rebounds to the Broncos' eight. The Bulls shot 43.5 percent for the game (27-62) and 48.3 percent (14-29) in the second half.
UB will travel to Ohio University on Tuesday to face the Bobcats (7-15, 3-8 MAC) to see if they can make it three straight MAC victories. The Bulls are pushing to be seeded in the No. 3-8 range, which would garner them a home game in the first round of the MAC Tournament. If the tournament were to begin today, UB would be seeded eighth.
