On Sunday afternoon, the Bulls (1-3, 0-0 MAC) finally got a long awaited win 67-59 against Fordham (3-2, 0-0 A10). It marks the Bulls first regular season win under head coach Kristen Sharkey.
Both teams set the tone early by starting the game with a combined four turnovers and three steals. Junior guard Paula Lopez finally got the Bulls on the board with a three — nearly two minutes into the game. Redshirt freshman guard Aniya Rowe then drove to the basket and finished with a layup on back to back plays to tie the game at 7-7 heading into the media timeout. Freshman forward Meg Lucas hit a pair of midrange jumpers, but a 7-0 Fordham run saw the Bulls down by five as the first quarter ended.
In the second quarter, the Bulls outscored the Rams 17-7. Junior guard Janyah Bohanon scored seven of the Bulls points, including two incredibly tough buckets. The quarter was capped off with a deep three from Rowe to give Buffalo a 28-23 going into half.
The third quarter saw a barrage of threes. Fifth-year guard Gabby McDuffie, Lopez and Rowe all connected from long range to put UB up by double digits. Fordham then went on a 7-0 run to make it a one-possession game until back to back trips to the charity stripe for freshman guard Deana Thompson halted the Rams momentum. Lopez nailed a three to beat the shot clock, but a 5-0 run for the Rams cut the lead to three by the end of the third.
The start of the fourth quarter started with another Rams 5-0 Rams run and gave Fordham the lead, forcing coach Sharkey to call a timeout. Buffalo came out of the break recharged. Lopez lobbed a pass for Lucas who hit the layup then Rowe drilled an open three on the wing to give the Bulls a narrow three point lead. With 2:45 remaining, Lopez drove to the basket and hit a tough shot plus the foul to give the Bulls another three point lead. The Rams managed to tie the game again, but 6 straight free throws capped off the Bulls win, 67-59.
The Bulls were all about effort, outrebounding the Rams 53-35, forcing 17 turnovers, and scoring 24 points inside the paint. Paula Lopez led the team in scoring with 19 points, Rowe scored a career-high 14 points, and Lucas recorded her first career double double.
The sports desk can be reached at sports@ubspectrum.com
