The first half belonged to sophomore guard Brittany Hedderson. The second half belonged to junior forward Kourtney Brown. But the game belonged to the Kent State Golden Flashes.
Despite strong individual performances and a nine-point second half cushion, the Bulls (5-13, 1-4 Mid-American Conference) were unable to close out the contest and fell to Kent State (10-7, 3-2 MAC) by a score of 68-66.
Buffalo held the lead for most of the game, but the Golden Flashes made a push late in the second half and tied the game with 3:16 left to play. With 1:09 left in the contest, the Bulls found themselves up one, 66-65, after a three-point play from Brown.
On the ensuing possession, Kent State's Taisja Harris went to the free throw line and knocked down both shots to give her squad a one-point lead. The Bulls then turned the ball over and the Golden Flashes found themselves at the charity stripe yet again. This time they went 1-of-2 and took a two-point lead with 24 seconds to play.
Buffalo was unable to convert on its final possession as Hedderson's jump shot fell short and the Golden Flashes grabbed the rebound. Kent State proceeded to run the clock out to grab the victory.
Throughout the contest, there was a large discrepancy in free throw attempts. The Golden Flashes went to the line 15 times during the first half, whereas the Bulls didn't visit the charity stripe once. Buffalo finished the game just 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Kent State went 18-for-25 during the contest and knocked down some pivotal foul shots late in the game, propelling the team to victory.
Still, head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald refused to place the blame on the officiating.
'If we did things well enough or consistently enough, then a call or two doesn't make a difference,' Hill-MacDonald said. '[The calls that the referees make] are factors beyond our control, so we just don't worry about them.'
The real problem stemmed from Kent State's strong shooting in the final 20 minutes and the Bulls' inability to get stops on defense.
'We didn't do the things that we needed to do defensively in the second half. It was tough, especially because they shot over 50 percent from the field in the second [half],' Hill-MacDonald said. 'We just lacked consistency. We played well for 20 minutes, but we need to be able to play hard the entire game.'
Buffalo dictated the tempo in the first half. The Golden Flashes we concerned with limiting Brown's impact on the game, which opened up space for other players to shine. Hedderson erupted for 17 first-half points and helped the Bulls jump out to a seven-point lead at the half, 33-26.
Things looked good for Buffalo at the start of the second. Brown scored the team's first eight points and proved to be too much for Kent State's defense to handle. Despite only scoring four points in the first half, Brown went off for 21 points in the second and finished the game with 25 points and seven rebounds, ending her double-double streak at seven games.
Hill-MacDonald had only praise for her six-foot star.
'It's such a joy [to have Brown on the team] and she's such a pleasure to coach. She's a coach's dream,' Hill-MacDonald said. 'She practices hard and, in everything she does, she brings her top effort. Kourtney brings her A-game to practice every day and she's able to repeat it in games because each time she steps on the court, she plays the same way.'
Buffalo did a good job of taking what the defense gave it, and showed that it has multiple players who are able to score big – four, to be exact. To go along with Brown's 25, Hedderson contributed 19 points, junior forward Jessica Fortman added 14 and freshman Abby Dowd rounded off the scoring with eight. But a well-rounded team effort was necessary to achieve victory, and a lack of defensive stops hindered the Bulls.
Buffalo let a winnable game slip away and will look to make sure that doesn't happen this Saturday when the team faces off against Northern Illinois.
'Every game is important for us,' Hill-MacDonald said. 'We need to go into Northern Illinois confident. They're playing well, they play consistently from one half to the other, and they've got a point guard who is extremely quick and extremely adept both offensively and defensively. It's a key game for us because it's the first game we play against a Western [Division] opponent.'
Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m. and will be broadcast on 1340 WLVL Radio.
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