Women's Basketball

Sharkey Earns First Win at Buffalo

Sunday's Women's Basketball Results
Buffalo 67, Fordham 59
Miami 77, Bellarmine 58
Toledo 66, Detroit Mercy 52
Kent State 92, Niagara 45
No. 24 Michigan State 98, Western Michigan 44
Cleveland State 76, Akron 55
Stories Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments

Buffalo 67, Fordham 59
Box Score
BUFFALO, NY – In a game that featured 11 lead chances and 10 ties, the University at Buffalo women's basketball team persevered to defeat Fordham 67-59 at Alumni Arena on Sunday afternoon.

It was the first win for head coach Kristen Sharkey and the day was made even more special by the dozens of former Bulls who were in attendance for Alumni Day, including several members of the 2016 Mid-American Conference championship team who were honored during a special in-game presentation.

Junior guard Paula Lopez led the Bulls in scoring for the third straight game as she scored a game-high 19 points, including four makes from beyond the arc. Redshirt freshman guard Aniya Rowe stuffed the stat sheet, scoring a career-high 14 points to go with seven rebounds and six assists and freshman forward Meg Lucas recorded her first career double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds.

To start things off, Lopez drained a three on the wing and later, Rowe got to the rim for layups on back-to-back possessions to tie the game at seven at the media timeout. Lucas then got going out of the break as she knocked down a pair of mid-range jumpers, but Fordham ended the quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 16-11 lead at the end of the first.

The Rams scored on their first possession of the second quarter, but Buffalo answered with a 9-2 run, capped by a layup from Ella Corry and a pair of tough buckets by Janyah Bohanon to tie the game at 20 at the media timeout. Bohanon continued to attack the glass as she skied up for an offensive rebound and finished through contact and then Rowe put an exclamation point on the half with a deep triple from the wing to give the Bulls a 28-23 lead at the half.

Buffalo got hot from beyond the arc as Lopez, Rowe and Gabby McDuffie connected on a trio of triples to put UB up by 10 at the 7:15 mark and later, Lopez curled off a screen and knocked down a deep three from the wing to give Buffalo a 42-33 midway through the quarter. The Rams used a 7-0 run to trim the lead to two, before Deana Thompson went into attack mode getting to the free throw line on back-to-back possessions and Lopez beat the buzzer with a deep three to put UB up by eight, but Fordham answered with a 5-0 run in the final minute to cut the UB lead to 48-45 at the end of the third.

Fordham opened the fourth quarter on a 5-0 run to take a one-point lead and force a UB timeout at the 7:54 mark. The Bulls settled down as Lopez hit Lucas with a lob pass for a layup and then Rowe was left open on the wing and capitalized, draining a three, to give UB a 54-51 lead at the final media timeout (4:56). Lopez continued to stay aggressive as she turned the corner and got a layup plus the foul to put UB up by three with 2:45 remaining. The hosts tied the game at 57 on the next possession but it was all Buffalo from there as Thomspon sliced to the basket for a layup and then she, Lopez and Lucas went 6-of-6 from the charity stripe in the final minute to secure the victory.

"Really proud of their effort," said Sharkey. "Going into this game we talked about how you had to want it, and you had to go take it, you can't expect a team to give us anything. It was a possession-by-possession game there at the end and our players hit some big-time shots."

"Super grateful to be here and grateful for Mark Alnutt and D'Ann Keller for trusting me with this program. Buffalo has been one of the best mid-major programs in the country for the last 15 years, so to be able to lead it now means the world to me."

Miami 77, Bellarmine 58
Box Score
LOUISVILLE, Ky – The Miami University women's basketball team forced 20 turnovers and connected on 10 three pointers en route to a 77-58 road victory on Sunday over Bellarmine University. Amber Scalia had a game-high 26 points (20 in the first half) and Ilse de Vries poured in 17 (all in second half) as the RedHawks improve to 4-1 on the year. The loss drops Bellarmine to 1-3 on the season.

How it Happened:
  • The RedHawks struggled early, committing five turnovers before the first media timeout. A triple from Clara Gonzalez Planella, followed by a put-back bucket from Brooke Blumenfeld tied the game at 10 apiece with three minutes left in the opening quarter. Scalia closed the quarter with eight-straight points in 75 seconds to spot the Red and White an 18-10 lead after 10 minutes of play.
  • Scalia continued her hot shooting, scoring Miami's first five points of the second quarter and three points from Amber Tretter made it 26-12 with six minutes left in the half. Bellarmine responded with a 6-2 run to cut the deficit to 10, but a three-pointer from Tamar Singer pushed Miami's advantage to 31-18 with just over two minutes to play. Miami led 35-23 at the half.
  • Bellarmine scored the first six points of the second half to cut the deficit in half just two minutes into the third. After both teams exchanged a pair of buckets, de Vries converted on a three-point play and on the ensuing possession de Vries knocked in a deep triple to regain the 12-point advantage for the RedHawks. Bellarmine wouldn't go away, scoring on back-to-back possessions, before Scalia's step-back triple made it 48-37. Late in the quarter de Vries knocked in another three-pointer to spot Miami a 56-42 lead. Miami led 57-44 entering the final stanza.
  • Miami scored the first six points of the final quarter to put the game of off reach, 63-44 with 7:30 to play. The Knights got as close as 14, mid-way through the quarter, but a triple from Mio Sakano with 2:30 to play made it 72-52.
Game Notes:
  • Amber Scalia's 26 points is a career best as a member of the RedHawks. She connected on five triples, one shy of her career-best, when she was a member of St. Thomas.
  • Ilse de Vries recorded career-bests in points (17) and assists (6).
  • Macie Taylor, who made her first start with the RedHawks, posted a career-high seven assists.
  • Amber Tretter had a game-high 12 rebounds.

Toledo 66, Detroit Mercy 52
Box Score
TOLEDO, Ohio. – The Toledo women's basketball team never trailed to earn its first victory of the season in a 66-52 win over Detroit Mercy in front of 3,685 fans at Savage Arena on Sunday.
 
The Rockets (1-2) quickly jumped out to a double-digit lead in the opening five minutes and held a 12-point advantage at halftime. The Titans (1-1) stayed within striking distance, but did not come closer than seven in the second half. A 9-1 run at the end of the third quarter put Toledo up double digits for good.
 
Toledo's defense forced 22 turnovers and came up with 15 steals on the afternoon. The Rockets out-rebounded the Titans, 27-23 and won the turnover battle, 22-14.

How It Happened
  • The Rockets went on an early 11-0 run over 2:47 to pull ahead 15-2 with 5:11 left in the first quarter.
  • UDM responded and closed to within 22-15 at the end of the first. The Titans totaled just nine total shot attempts and five turnovers in the opening period.
  • The Rockets allowed just seven points in the second quarter and extended their lead back to double digits by halftime. Miriam Diala's layup with one second left in the half brought the Rockets to a 34-22 lead heading into the locker room.
  • The Rockets finished the third quarter on a 9-1 run in the last 3:06 to go up 54-39 after three quarter, with Faith Fedd-Robinson supplying four points during the run.
  • The Titans never got closer than 11 during the fourth quarter, as Toledo closed out the victory.
Game Notes
  • Toledo won its 23rd straight game against the Horizon League, a streak that dates back to March 20, 2015.
  • Toledo's 15 steals were its most since swiping 18 against Defiance on Dec. 28, 2024 (25 games). Four Rockets had multiple steals for the game.
  • Fedd-Robinson tied career highs with both her 17 points and seven field goals made.  
  • Sophomore forward Miriam Diala's five steals marked a career high, surpassing her previous high of two.
  • Toledo's seven points allowed in the second quarter were its fewest since allowing the same amount in the second quarter of last season's MAC Tournament championship game against Ball State.
Kent State 92, Niagara 45
Box Score
KENT, Ohio — Four players scored in double-figures as Kent State defeated Niagara, 92-45, on Sunday afternoon at the M.A.C. Center. The 47-point victory is the largest margin against a Division I opponent under 10th-year head coach Todd Starkey.

Junior Janae Tyler scored a season-high 24 points in just 24 minutes, while senior Dionna Gray recorded a double-double with 10 points and career-high 10 assists without any turnovers.

The Golden Flashes (3-2) took advantage of the Purple Eagles' aggressiveness by shooting 15-of-15 at the free throw line in the first quarter. Freshman Rylee Kalocay knocked down a pair of three-pointers as part of an 18-3 run that put Kent State ahead 31-14 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter ended with an even larger run, as the Flashes outscored their guest 23-3 over the final 7:02 to make it 56-23 at halftime.

All 12 player in uniform made a field goal. Kalocay and junior Mya Babbitt reached double-figures with 10 points each. Eight different Flashes contributed to a season-high 25 assists and six grabbed at least four boards to contribute to a 49-29 rebounding advantage. Junior Riley Rismiller led the way with six.

Kent State will attempt to win its fourth in a row on Wednesday when it battles Ohio State inside of Value City Arena in Columbus.