???The women's basketball team outperformed the Northern Illinois Huskies in almost all aspects of their game on Saturday at Alumni Arena.
???Unfortunately, it was the Huskies' ability to hit critical free throws that cut the Bulls' quest for a win short.
???Northern Illinois (13-11, 8-3 Mid-American Conference) shot 82 percent from the free throw line, expanding their slim lead in the final minutes and defeating Buffalo (5-19, 1-10 MAC), 70-63.
???Head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald was pleased with her team's performance, but felt the free throws ruined their chance to win.
???"If a team has 28 opportunities to go to the foul line, and they are scoring 82 percent of the time, that is a tremendous liability when we are doing other things well," she said.
???The Bulls defense was strong Saturday, holding the Huskies to 32 percent shooting from the field and 28 percent from 3-point range. Northern Illinois guard Jessie Wilcox, the best shooter on her team, was held to just one 3-pointer on eight attempts.
???"For the most part our matchups were good and our [defensive] effort was outstanding," Hill-MacDonald said. "We put good pressure on shooters, we communicated well defensively, played screens effectively, and we had them frustrated in their offensive sets."
???Offensively, the Bulls offense shot 36 percent from the field and 47 percent from the 3-point line. The hot shooting helped the Bulls jump to a quick 17-6 lead just seven minutes into the first half. The Huskies countered with a 17-4 run to take their first lead of the game. Despite the Huskies' run, the Bulls continued their fine play throughout the half and went into the locker room up, 33-30.
???The second half turned out to be a back and forth battle between the teams. Buffalo scored the first five points of the half to extend their lead to eight.
???Northern Illinois battled back to eventually grab a lead. The teams battled back and forth, exchanging the lead several times down the stretch.
???With the help of timely shooting and great free throw shooting, the Huskies grabbed momentum. The grabbed a 63-57 lead with two minutes left and looked to be pulling away. Bulls junior guard Rachelle Matthys drained a 3-pointer to bring them within three, but free throws and a lack of time on the clock doomed the Bulls.
???"In the end, we were forced to foul and the player we wanted to foul was subbed out," Matthys said.
???The Bulls' bench finished with 26 points on the day. Two of the key players coming off the bench were Matthys and freshman forward Beth Christensen.
???"Whenever you have players coming in off the bench like Rachelle and Beth had tonight that brings a smile to a coach's face," Hill-MacDonald said.
???Matthys finished with 16 points, shooting 40 percent from behind the arc. Christensen made each of her three shots, including her second 3-point shot of the year, and ended up with eight points in 22 minutes off the bench.
???The Bulls' also received quality production from one of their starters. Senior forward Jamie Schiebner finished with 16 points, going 3-for-6 from 3-point range in 37 minutes.
???Saturday's loss marked the end of the MAC West component of the schedule for the Bulls. Buffalo finished 1-5 against their western foes but have learned from each of their games.
???"If we didn't learn from these last six games we might as well not come back out and play," Hill-MacDonald said. "There is more to be learned when you lose a game than when you win a game."
???Despite the losses, the players are looking ahead to find success.
???"We just try to have confidence in ourselves and we know what we are capable of," Christensen said. "We keep looking towards the next game and trying to get that win."
???The Bulls look to do just that as they travel to Ohio to face off against the Bobcats. Tip off is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
