February was a disaster for the women's basketball team, which has now lost six of its last seven games. During the month, the team played in some close games, but none were closer than Saturday night's last-second heartbreak loss.
After losing four-in-a-row, the Bulls (7-21, 3-12 Mid-American Conference) were excited to face the Ohio Bobcats (9-20, 4-11 MAC) after beating them soundly over a month ago at Alumni Arena.
Buffalo made a solid effort down the stretch, but the month ended much like it began – with a loss. On Saturday, the Bulls fell to the Bobcats, 61-58.
With the game tied, Ohio guard Jennifer Bushby nailed a 3-pointer as time expired to knock off the Bulls. The shot came after Buffalo erased a 12-point, second-half deficit.
Bulls head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald blamed the shot on a lack of execution.
'[Bushby] should have never caught the ball in the first place,' Hill-MacDonald said. 'That was what we said in the timeout. Don't let Bushby touch the ball and don't let [Ohio guard Jenny] Poff touch the ball.'
The team was unable to lock up the Bobcats' key players and paid the price.
Ohio opened the game on an 8-2 run to quickly put Buffalo on its heels. Powered by junior forward Kourtney Brown, the Bulls responded with a 21-10 burst to take their largest lead of the game at 23-18.
When Brown went to the bench with 5:30 remaining for the rest of the first half, Ohio fought back with an 11-0 run and took a 29-28 lead at halftime. Poff converted two 3-pointers during the run to help the Bobcats go into the locker room with the lead.
Buffalo played good defense in the first half, holding the Bobcats to 32.4 percent shooting from the floor and out-rebounding their opponents 23-18. However, carelessness with the basketball was the main x-factor in the first half as the Bulls turned the ball over 15 times, leading to 15 Ohio points.
The Bobcats came out swinging in the second half, using an 18-7 run to take their largest lead of the game, 47-35, with 11:40 remaining. The Bulls would once again claw their way back into it behind Brown. Despite being double and triple teamed, Buffalo's star took over the game and scored eight straight points to bring the Bulls within four points at 49-45.
A 3-pointer by freshman guard Abby Dowd and more clutch baskets by Brown pulled the Bulls to within two at 55-53 with 2:30 left. Buffalo had multiple chances to tie or take the lead, but didn't take advantage of its opportunities.
Sophomore forward Beth Christensen missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw with 1:12 left and then turned the ball over with 23 seconds remaining. Two free throws by Poff pushed the lead to four for Ohio.
Sophomore guard Brittany Hedderson then cut the lead to one with a 3-point play with 15 seconds left. After another free throw by Poff, junior forward Jessica Fortman knocked down a jumper with four seconds left to tie the game at 58.
However, the Bulls left too much time on the clock for Bushby, as she raced down the court and sank the game winner.
Brown was her usual dominant self on the afternoon. The junior recorded her 17th double-double of the season in leading the Bulls with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Brown did struggle at times when the defense applied pressure and she turned the ball over a team-high six times.
Hedderson was the only other Bull to reach double figures, scoring with 10 points. Christensen had a nice all-around game with five assists, four blocks and seven rebounds.
Poff and Bushby each had 21 points to lead the Bobcats. They shot a combined 8-for-16 from the 3-point line.
Hill-MacDonald saw sloppy play by her team, which finished with 26 turnovers, but also gave credit to Ohio's defense.
'It was a combination of [good defense and sloppy play],' Hill-MacDonald said. 'We telegraphed some passes and they stepped in the passing lanes. They're not playing this season with the same kind of defensive consistency as they did last season, but when they step it up, it's hard to get open.'
Although the ending was not what the Bulls hoped for, Hill-MacDonald was pleased with the heart the team showed.
'I thought the effort was great,' Hill-MacDonald said. 'They did everything we asked them to do to get back into the game. It's unfortunate for us that [Bushby] hit that shot.'
The Bulls will celebrate senior night on Tuesday in their final game of the regular season against Kent State. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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