The women's basketball team made sure fans in attendance got their money's worth on Saturday.
Looking to even their record at 2-2, the Bulls were led by redshirt-sophomore Kourtney Brown. Behind Brown's 22-point night, Buffalo achieved that goal as they defeated the Delaware Blue Hens, 63-45.
Brown was the main attraction of the game. She was able to match her point total from the Bulls' game last week against Youngstown State as she put up 22 points, five rebounds and three blocks against Delaware (2-1).
Brown became the first player to have back-to-back 20-point performances since 2005-2006. She went 11 for 14 from the field.
Head coach Linda Hill-McDonald was impressed at how well Brown played, not only because of her second 22-point game in a row, but also because she is recovering from an ACL injury that she suffered last year.
"What is there to say about Kourtney Brown's performance today? It was stellar," Hill-McDonald said. "She is coming of an ACL injury, and I'm not so sure she is 100 percent, but yet she played like she was 100 percent."
Brown wasn't the only Bull to have an outstanding performance. Freshman guard Brittany Hedderson racked up 11 points, six assists and seven steals off the bench for the Bulls. Hedderson's seven steals ties her for fifth in the Buffalo record books for steals in a game.
"Her stat line is just impressive considering she is just a freshman," Hill-McDonald said. "She just does all the little things. She's a player that puts her hardhat on and goes to work."
The beginning of the first half was very close and the Blue Hens led for the majority of it. But the Bulls didn't let Delaware get too far away.
With about 15 minutes left before halftime, Buffalo went on an 8-0 run, led by Brown. As the game went on, Delaware was able to cut the lead back to one, but that was as close as they would get the rest of the night. With 3:15 left in the half, the Bulls started a 12-2 run that put them up 32-19 at halftime.
Even with Delaware down in the game, they never thought a comeback was out of reach. The Blue Hens fought hard to get the score closer. Led by guard Tesia Harris, who had 12 second-half points, Delaware was able to get within 10 points of Buffalo.
However, the Bulls wanted the win too much to give up their lead. With a defensive push, Buffalo was able to go up 18 points to put the game in the books.
With the Blue Hens entering this game undefeated and with a lot of height on their roster, it looked as if Delaware would come into Alumni Arena and put a pounding on the Bulls.
The consensus in the Bulls locker room was that despite the odds, they could win.
"We knew that this game was very winnable," Brown said. "We knew if we went out and we all played together for 40 minutes, we were going to come away with a win.
Hill-McDonald was proud of the way her team played.
"I am very pleased with our performance today," Hill-MacDonald said. "I thought our transition defense was very strong as well as our half court defense. Most of the time we were able to fill up the lanes and hold Delaware to one shot."
Buffalo plans to ride this win right into their next home game Tuesday versus cross-town rival Niagara. It is the first game of a doubleheader at Alumni Arena, with the men's team facing the Purple Eagles at the conclusion of the women's game. Tipoff is at 6 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
