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Thursday, March 28, 2024
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More Records Broken in Bulls Loss

The women's basketball team surrendered 16 3-pointers on Wednesday night and suffered its worst loss in the final game of the regular season.

The Bulls (15-14, 8-8 Mid-American Conference) took a beating from Bowling Green (25-4, 13-3 MAC) despite 32 points from senior forward Kourtney Brown. Brown became Buffalo's all-time leading scorer amongst women and men in the game, but it was not enough as the Bulls fell 92-68.

Brown also recorded two blocks in the contest, putting her atop the MAC all-time blocks list, but the Bulls' defense could not contain the Falcons' shooters. Bowling Green shot 54 percent from the field and 46 percent from long-range, while tying a school record and posting a season-best for 3-pointers made in a game.

Since it was Senior Night and also the last game to be played at Anderson Arena, head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald knew that the atmosphere gave Bowling Green an advantage.

"[Bowling Green] got into a groove early," Hill-MacDonald said. "It was lights out."

The Falcons never relinquished the lead in the game and survived an 8-0 run by the Bulls after leading by as much as 16 in the first half. Bowling Green all-time leading scorer Lauren Prochaska led the Falcons with 22 points, including five 3-pointers. She also distributed the ball well for a game-high six assists.

Bowling Green was ferocious on defense as well, converting 10 Buffalo turnovers into 16 points in the first half. The closest the Bulls came to their opponent was six points, but the Falcons proved they had a bird's-eye view of the hoop. They ended the period with a 13-point advantage by a score of 41-28.

Bowling Green did not waste any time, ensuring that Buffalo had no chance at a comeback in the second half. Prochaska hit 2-of-4 shots from behind the arc for the Falcons in the first four minutes as they extended their lead to 22 points.

The most obvious factor in the loss for the Bulls was teamwork. While all four seniors who started for the Falcons scored in double figures, senior forward Jessica Fortman was the only other Bulls' player aside from Brown to do so, with 10 points. Fortman also added five rebounds and four assists.

Hill-MacDonald felt bad for the lack of support provided to Brown by the Bulls.

"It's sad," Hill-MacDonald said. "[It's sad] for Kourtney to have a game like she had but not have teammates step up. It was not a game played with the consistent level of tenacity that we need at this time of year."

Bowling Green had nine more assists than Buffalo in the game and outrebounded the Bulls 36-30. Falcons forward Jen Uhl led the way with six rebounds. She was also responsible for Bowling Green's early run, scoring eight of the Falcons first 10 points.

Senior guard Ashley Zuber contributed eight points and three assists, while senior forward Bridgette Kendricks had six points and a career-high four assists.

The Bulls shot 44 percent from the field and only 30 percent from 3-point territory. The 92 points allowed was the second-most for the Bulls this season since giving up 94 in a loss to Miami (Ohio) (11-18, 3-13 MAC).

Coming into the game, Brown, Fortman, Kendricks and Zuber had defeated every team in the MAC during their careers, except for Bowling Green. The Bulls' last hope of beating the Falcons will only come if the two teams meet in the MAC tournament.

The Bulls will be back home Saturday for the first round of the tournament as they host Ball State (9-20, 4-12 MAC) at 7 p.m.

E-mail: sports@ubspectrum.com


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