???Close and exciting games have become a theme whenever the women's basketball team faces off against the Ohio Bobcats. Unfortunately for the Bulls, they have come out on the wrong side of their games with Ohio.
???Similar to their overtime loss to the Bobcats on Jan. 7, the Bulls (5-20, 1-11 Mid-American Conference) lost a close one on Saturday to Ohio (10-15, 5-7 MAC), falling 80-77. Buffalo rallied from an 18-point deficit with just 8:17 remaining, but were unable to complete the comeback. It was the Bulls' fifth straight loss.
???"We really tend to press offensively," said head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald. "We were very unorganized, very rushed. We took too many quick shots."
???Junior guard Rachelle Matthys led the Bulls with a game-high 25 points. She drained seven 3-pointers for the Bulls, which put her in third place for most 3-point shots made in a game in school history.
???Matthys's performance helped Buffalo attempt a school-record 31 3-pointers during the game. The Bulls converted on 12 of those attempts, a season-high output.
???On the other side, Ohio attacked the Bulls in the paint to get the bulk of their points. They outscored the Bulls 48-29 inside the paint and shot 66.7 percent from the field in the first half. They finished the game with a field goal percentage of 55.2 percent, roughly 14 percent higher than Buffalo.
???"We weren't matching on defense like we needed to," Hill-MacDonald said. "We were late on switches and we gave them some wide open looks. We didn't defend penetration well at all."
???Ohio was also led by a fairly balanced attack with four different players scoring in double digits. Bobcats senior guard Lauren Hmiel led the team in scoring with 20 points.
???Halftime could not come soon enough for the Bulls. Ohio finished the half on a 13-4 run that put the Bulls down 43-35 heading into the locker room.
???"We were getting good looks at the basket in the first half. We weren't hitting them, but they were good looks," Hill-MacDonald said. "The bottom line is, our players need to be confident."
???The beginning of the second half was very similar to the end of the first half. Ohio came out and began the half with a 10-0 run. Buffalo had a tough time ending the run as it began the half shooting zero for 10. It didn't make a field goal for the first six minutes and 35 seconds of the half.
???Even with the tough start, the Bulls continued to play hard, even when down by significant deficits. Losing by a seemingly insurmountable 21 points, Buffalo answered with a 12-6 run, punctuated by a 3-point shot from Matthys to put them down by 13.
???The Bulls answered another huge deficit, going on an 11-0 run, making the score 70-65 with just 3:40 to go. Ohio pushed its lead to eight with less than a minute to go, but a 3-pointer from freshman guard Brittany Hedderson put the Bulls within five with just 20 seconds remaining.
???Buffalo had a glimmer of hope after Ohio only made one of two free throws after a Buffalo foul. Matthys then hit her seventh 3-pointer of game, putting the team within three points with five seconds remaining. The Bulls put Ohio to the free throw line, where the Bobcats made both attempts and sealed the game.
???Despite the loss, the Bulls had several other fine performances. Brown scored 15 points finished with six rebounds. Senior forward Jamie Schiebner played in her 100th game as a Bull, adding 12 points and four assists. Hedderson led the team with seven assists of her own.
???Buffalo will try to break its five-game losing streak on Wednesday when the Bulls host Bowling Green at 7 p.m. at Alumni Arena. The Falcons are undefeated in MAC play and are coming into Buffalo riding a 23-game winning streak.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
