The Bulls gave a truly lackluster performance in Alumni Arena Wednesday night against the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks, as the women's basketball team lost their third straight game, falling to the RedHawks 84-55.
Miami (17-9, 9-3 MAC) shot 54 percent from the field for the game, hitting 11 three's and only missing two free throws.
"In the last two games everything has been going wrong for us at the defensive end," said head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald. "Our defensive footwork at this point of the season should be a lot quicker than it is, and we aren't getting out to defend threes quick enough."
Buffalo (12-13, 5-7 Mid-American Conference) could not stop the RedHawks right from the beginning of the game. Miami scored within the first 14 seconds of the first half with a jumper by Amanda Jackson. The RedHawks then jumped out to an 18-4 lead with 13:03 to go in the first half and never looked back.
The Bulls fought back in the first 20 minutes, getting within eight points to 25-17 with a lay-up from senior forward Heather Turner. After this basket, neither team scored for six minutes.
At the 1:25 mark, Jackson would hit a three to extend the Miami lead to 28-17. The RedHawks hit three free throws to end the half leading 31-19.
Miami was also strong on defense in the first half, recording eight steals and holding Buffalo to 30 percent field goal shooting.
"We were messing up on a lot of our communication, and their zone made us uncomfortable, although it shouldn't have," said senior guard Stephanie Bennett.
To begin the second half, freshman forward Jessica Fortman hit a jumper to get the Bulls within 10 points. This would be the closest Buffalo would get the remainder of the game. Miami answered back with a three pointer by Ashley Hawkins and then a lay-up by Laura Markwood to push the lead up to 15.
At the 12:38 mark, the RedHawks' Briana Dunlap hit a three to give Miami a 22 point lead. The Bulls attempted to come back, getting the score to 58-44 with a field goal by sophomore guard Dayna Smith. But, Miami would end the game on a 26-11 run.
In the second half, Miami scored 53 total points. This is the second consecutive game that the Bulls allowed their opponent to score 50 points in the second half. The RedHawks shot 64 percent in the second half and hit seven three pointers. Miami held Buffalo to 41 percent shooting and limited them to only two three's.
One big difference in the game was free throw shooting, where Miami hit 13-15 of their shots, while Buffalo made only 36 percent of its 14 attempts.
Amanda Jackson, the conference's leading scorer, led the RedHawks in points. She finished with 30 points on 9-16 shooting, hitting four three pointers and all eight of her free throws.
"Almost everything she was putting up was going in," Hill-MacDonald said. "She's a really good player and she played like one."
On the Bulls side, Bennett scored 14 points on 6-14 shooting. She also contributed five assists, two rebounds, and two steals. Fortman had another solid all around game, finishing with 10 points on 4-7 shooting, five rebounds, two assists, and a game-high two blocks. Sophomore guard Ashley Zuber and junior forward Jamie Schiebner combined to make two of their 12 shots. Zuber committed four turnovers, while Schiebner made three turnovers.
The Bulls travel to play Ohio on Saturday, Feb. 23 to try to end their three-game losing streak. The game is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
