"Brown, Fortman advance upstart Bulls"

The scoreboard was working fine Friday afternoon at Quicken Loans Arena.

Kent State fans had a tough time believing that.

In their quarterfinal matchup with the Golden Flashes, the women's basketball team came out like they were the No. 2 seed in the East. With a relentless effort on post defense coupled with a fearless attitude on offense, the Bulls (8-23, 2-14 Mid-American Conference) shocked the MAC conference by knocked off Kent State (19-10, 8-8 MAC) in a 66-54 upset.

"We were beaten by a team today who played tougher than we did, played harder than we did and wanted to win the game more than we did," said Kent State head coach Bob Lindsay.

Buffalo's shocking victory gave the Bulls two wins in the MAC Tournament, matching their win total against the MAC during the regular season. The win puts the Bulls into their first-ever MAC Tournament Semifinal.

How the Bulls got to the MAC Semifinals is a question numerous people in Cleveland have a tough time figuring out. Buffalo, the No. 6 seed in the East Division, lost by 18 and 19 points in their two regular season contests against Kent State. Once they fell behind 7-0 in the opening minutes in their quarterfinal matchup, it looked as if it was only a matter of time until Kent State would pull away.

That did not happen. Buffalo prevented Kent State from grabbing a double-digit lead. Down 24-18 with 3:21 left, the Bulls found their offensive groove. They finished the half with a 7-2 run, capped by a jumper from senior guard Dortae Freeman with seven seconds left to make the score 26-25 at halftime.

The scoring surge to end the first half gave the Bulls all the momentum they needed. A jumper by sophomore forward Kourtney Brown gave the Bulls their first lead 29-28 early in the second half.

It was the last lead chance of the game. Buffalo's lead swelled up to as much as 11 points and the Golden Flashes were unable to cut their deficit to less than four points.

Despite the Bulls' record, head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald was not surprised by her team's performance.

"This team has had it in them all season long. We played close in almost every single game that we've played," he said. "Now is the point in the season where I'm just happy it's coming together now... This is a huge win for the team today. Hopefully the confidence they gain from this will help propel us into the Finals."

The play of Buffalo's post players put the overachieving Bulls into a position to win. Sophomore forward Kourtney Brown led the Bulls, with 16 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and five steals. Sophomore forward Jessica Fortman chipped in a game high 20 points and eight rebounds.

Fortman struggled shooting, but she got herself to the free throw line where she converted 11-of-13 free throws. Sixteen of her points game in the second half.

But Buffalo's bigs did not just succeed on the offensive end. Their pressure defense on Flashes' center Anna Kowalska, a First Team All-MAC selection, stifled the senior. She scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds but only convert on two of her nine free throws.

The Bulls' post players did not limit their pressure to just Kowalska. They blocked a total of nine shots and forced 15 turnovers.

MacDonald switched her defense up to limit Kent's production on the offensive end. The Bulls struggled to prevent the Flashes from scoring in their previous matchups, but the adjustments made were huge in stopping Kent State Friday.

"Last time we played Kent we did not get out to the 3-point shooters very well. Part of our defense today was an adjustment to be able to get out to their shooters," she said. "The little adjustments we made were very beneficial [Friday]."

MacDonald and the Bulls now find themselves just two wins away from a NCAA Tournament bid. Their quest for the team's first-ever selection to the tournament continues Saturday as they matchup with Ball State, the No. 1 seed from the West. Tip-off is at 2:30 p.m.