The women’s basketball team, down 52-50, had the opportunity to tie the game with 50 seconds remaining in the contest.
Sophomore guard Rachael Gregory missed a long two-point shot at the top of the post, but sophomore forward Alexus Malone was there for the rebound. Malone was standing under the basket and but couldn’t connect on the second-chance opportunity.
Buffalo ended the game on the wrong end of a 15-0 run and did not score in the final 4:58 of the game.
The Bulls (0-1) dropped the first game of the season, 58-50, against Siena (1-0) Friday night at Alumni Arena after holding a 50-43 lead with less than five minutes remaining.
“We weren’t ready to score in the last five minutes,” said head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. “We weren’t even ready to score in the first two or three minutes. The reality of the situation is they got us twice now and we have to live with that until our next game.”
The team shot only 32 percent (18 of 56) from the field in the loss. The Bulls especially struggled from beyond the arc.
The Bulls shot 7 of 29 from 3-point range. Junior guard Mackenzie Loesing led the team with 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting. She struggled from deep however, shooting just 3 of 11.
Thirteen of the Bulls’ first 17 shots were from beyond the arc. The Bulls made four 3-pointers compared to one two-point shot.
“Even though those shots were going in, it made me nervous,” Legette-Jack said. It gave us a false sense of reality. It killed us.”
Gregory scored 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting with five rebounds and two assists. It was the first time she played since tearing her ACL two seasons ago.
“It’s been a long time and I’m happy to be out there with my teammates,” Gregory said. “We obviously have work to do, but the knee feels fine.”
Malone and senior forward Christa Baccas led the team with 10 and nine rebounds, respectively. They compiled more than half of the total team rebounds.
The Bulls were outrebounded 49-37, and had only 12 offensive rebounds in the game. Legette-Jack said the subpar rebounding effort was due to the team’s mild aggressiveness in the post.
“It’s the box out,” Legette-Jack said. “It’s something I hang my head about … We didn’t take pride in our box out. For us to have such a strong team and still get outrebounded by 12? To me, that’s unacceptable.”
Senior forward Kristen Sharkey had an uncharacteristically rough game, with just four points and two rebounds. Sharkey suffered from a minor hamstring injury during the team’s exhibition last week, but Legette-Jack assured it was not a lingering problem. Sharkey averaged more than 14 points and eight rebounds last season.
"There’s no injury, whatsoever,” Legette-Jack said. “She just didn’t play well. Sometimes, that happens. Even the great ones.”
Coach Jack admits the team did not play smart basketball down the stretch and also admitted “the better team won”.
Ten of 12 active players played for Buffalo. Seven Bulls played at least 18 minutes.
The Bulls are coming off a 17-win 2013-14 season and were predicted to win the MAC East in the preseason coaching polls.
“I’m never going to call a loss a good thing,” Loesing said. “But it’s definitely a lesson learned moving forward. Like coach Jack said, there were a lot of predictions made about us coming into the season, but they don’t mean anything until we meet them and give them meaning.”
The team plays its next game Tuesday, Nov. 18 when the Bulls travel to St. Francis. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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Photo: Paul Hokanson/UB Athletics
