Buffalo 72, Canisius 55
Miami 59, Davidson 58
Ohio 71, Cleveland State 64
Western Michigan 51, Holy Cross 40
Youngstown State 75, Akron 62
Hampton 64, Bowling Green 53
Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Buffalo 72, Canisius 55
BUFFALO, NY – Senior captain Kristen Sharkey posted a game-best 26 points to lead the University at Buffalo, State University of New York women's basketball team to victory Monday night. The Bulls (7-4) defeated Canisius (4-7), 72-55, to sweep Big 4 action and close out non-conference play at the Koessler Athletic Center.
The 17-point win doubled as UB's largest margin of victory this season, while the loss was Canisius' fourth straight.
"It was a good team win tonight," praised head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. "It's exciting when we play consistent – 10 players deep. We don't care who gets the credit, as long as we get the win."
Canisius held its only lead of the game scoring the first bucket of the contest. The Bulls claimed an infinite lead with a Mackenzie Loesing three at 14:11. UB used an 8-0 run to secure its largest gap of the first, 24-11, but the Golden Griffins pieced together a streak of their own to cut within six late in the half. Committing just five first-frame turnovers, the Bulls led 35-28 at intermission.
Loesing drained another from beyond the arc to tip off the latter half with a 9-1 stretch. The Bulls never looked back. They went on to lead by 20 on a Christa Baccas put-back at 9:23. UB held the Griffs without a field goal from 12:01-2:13 as it cruised to victory – its fifth in the last six games.
"It was good to see (Kristen) Sharkey do what she did tonight. Christa (Baccas) also had some really heady plays," added Legette-Jack.
Sharkey flirted with a double-double adding a game-best nine rebounds to go with her 26 points, 17 of which came in the first stint on 7-for-9 shooting. Playing her 100th-career game for the Bulls, Baccas had nine boards, eight points and a trio of blocks. Loesing tallied 13 points, inching her closer to the 1,000-point threshold, and sophomore Alexus Malone scored 10. UB had six players dish out two assists each.
The Griffs placed three in double digits. Crystal Porter was 7-for-14 from the field for 14 points. Kayla Hoohuli contributed 12 and Tiahana Mills 11. Mills, who was 9-for-10 at the line, and Jasmine Mungo grabbed a team-high six boards apiece. The Griffs had five steals and no blocks on the night.
UB narrowly edged Canisius, 45-44, on the boards. The Blue & White had 14 turnovers, while making seven steals. The Bulls capitalized on the host squad's 19 turnovers to score 23 points.
UB, who has won four of the last five against Canisius, shot 40.3 percent from the field to the Griffs' 28.8 percent.
The Bulls will return home to open Mid-American Conference play Saturday, Jan. 3 against Ohio at 3 pm.
Miami 59, Davidson 58
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – It came down to the last play, but some timely shots and a last second defensive stand gave the Miami University women’s basketball team a 59-58 win over Davidson in its final game at the Cavalier Classic on Monday. The RedHawks improve to 3-8 on the season, while the Wildcats fall to 4-9.
In front 59-58 with seven seconds to go, Miami smartly used its two fouls to give to keep Davidson from getting its offense set. With 4.7 seconds left the Wildcats drove to the middle of the lane, but freshman guard Kayla Brown came up with a huge block and junior forward Hannah McCue corralled the rebound to secure the victory.
For the second consecutive game, senior point guard Courtney Larson took a leadership role on the floor. She finished with eight points, four assists and three rebounds while running the Miami offense. For the second straight weekend she earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
McCue came up with several key shots and helped lead the Miami defense. She had her third double-double of the season, finishing with a team-high 15 points and 11 rebounds. McCue had a career-high six steals in 32 minutes of action.
Despite playing strong on defense, the RedHawks started cold from the floor as Davidson took an early 8-4 lead. McCue got the offense going when she drained a shot from the top of the key. A layup from freshman guard Ana Richter and a jumper by McCue pulled the ‘Hawks to within one at 12-11 before a 5-0 lead gave the Wildcats their largest lead at 17-11 with 10:05 left in the period.
A 6-0 run by Miami, punctuated by back-to-back layups from freshman forward Molly McDonagh and McCue tied the score at 17. After Davidson retook the lead, a jumper and a three-pointer by McCue put the ‘Hawks back on top, 22-19. Tied at 22 and with only two seconds left on the shot clock, Larson found Richter behind the arc. Richter then hit an off-balanced three-pointer to put Miami in front again. The Red and White would hold that advantage into halftime, going into the break with a 27-25 lead.
A jumper by junior forward Jessica Rupright and a three-pointer from Brown gave the ‘Hawks their largest lead at 32-25. Davidson responded with a 7-1 run to close to within one at 36-35 with 16:25 to go. In front, 40-38, Larson was fouled on a three-pointer and converted the free throw for a rare four-point play to make it 44-38 at the 11:41 mark.
Miami was able to maintain a four-to-six point advantage over the next eight minutes as Rupright and McCue each converted layups down low. Brown hit a jumper with 4:37 left to give Miami a 55-49 advantage. The Wildcats responded with two straight baskets to pull within two at the 3:09 mark.
McCue drained a pair of free throws, but Davidson answered with another bucket to make it 57-55. Freshman guard Baleigh Reid hit two key free throws with 57 seconds left to make it a four-point game. That proved to be key points as Davidson’s Alex Long drained a three-pointer to cut the deficit to one with 42 seconds to go. Miami’s next shot was blocked, but the defense held tough to finish off the 59-58 win.
In addition to McCue’s 15, Rupright had 14 points, while Larson and Brown each had eight. Miami forced Davidson into 19 turnovers and was tied in the rebounds with the Wildcats at 36. DU was led by Hannah Early with 18 points.
The RedHawks begin Mid-American Conference play on Saturday when they travel to Toledo on Saturday at 2 p.m. Tim Bray has the call and it can be heard live on Miami All-Access for those who have a subscription.
Ohio 71, Cleveland State 64
Athens, Ohio - The Bobcats shot 72.2% from the free throw line, helping the Ohio women's basketball team (9-2) to a 71-64 win against the Cleveland State Vikings (7-5) on Monday evening at the Convocation Center.
OHIO STARTERS: #2 Mariah Byard, #4 Kiyanna Black, #5 Quiera Lampkins, #10 Lexie Baldwin, #14 Kat Yelle
CLEVELAND STATE STARTERS: #1 Imani Gordon, #12 Brooke Smith, #15 Cori Coleman, #21 Kiersten Green, #24 Alexis Eckles
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Ohio and CSU ended the first half tied, 27-27.
- Lampkins and Baldwin lead the Bobcats in points, with 14 apiece.
- Baldwin also led Ohio in rebounds, with seven.
- As a unit, Ohio recorded 39 rebounds.
- The team hit 50.0% of their three-point shots and they currently rank third in the nation in three-point field goals per game.
- The Bobcats shot 72.2% from the free throw line (13-18).
- With CSU trailing by three with 25 seconds left, Byard and Jasmine Weatherspoon both sank two free throws to solidify the 71-64 victory.
- Baldwin was 4-5 from the free throw line, while Weatherspoon was 5-7.
- Ohio's largest lead was by eight points with 16:23 remaining in the first half.
- The Viking's largest lead was by seven points, with 6:57 remaining in the first half.
- Ohio earned 31 points off of turnovers.
- The lead changed a total of 14 times throughout the game.
- CSU's Kiersten Green lead the competition in baskets for the first half, with 12 points.
- CSU's Imani Gordon grabbed the most rebounds in the first half, with six.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- This is the tenth time this season that the Bobcats have scored at least 60 points.
- With nine wins, Ohio now has the same number of victories as they did in the entire 2013-14 season.
- The nine nonconference victories for the Bobcats are the most in school history.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Bob Boldon: On the play of Tmisht Stinson:
"Nobody brought more value to their minutes than Tmisht did tonight. She's a kid that works on her shot, as much as anyone else who works on their shot. Just the rotation and the way games have gone, the minutes and the stats kind of show what she's capable of. I thought tonight she gave us a spark off the bench. The backdoor layup was a good cut. The corner three - she shot with a lot of confidence. I thought defensively, she did just as well a job, which is no real statistical mark. She was in the right spot; she guarded things correctly."
COMING UP
Ohio will open Mid-American Conference competition on Jan. 3 as they take on Buffalo in the Alumni Arena in Buffalo, N.Y.
Western Michigan 51, Holy Cross 40
STONY BROOK, N.Y.- After playing a less than impressive first half, Western Michigan pulled itself up by the bootstraps and overcame a 32-23 halftime deficit, posting a 51-40 win over Holy Cross at Stony Brook’s Seawolves Classic Monday.
With the victory, Western Michigan improves to 7-4 on the season.
Western Michigan was sparked by the bench play of freshman LaTondra Brooks, who defensively wreaked havoc for Holy Cross. Brooks had six steals in the game and continuously disrupted the Crusaders’ offense with her quick hands. Midway through the second half, she had a pivotal 3-point play with a layup and foul off a steal that cut a seven-point deficit down to four.
“I told our coaching staff coming down here, I really thought Lala was ready to break out, and today she was a game-changer,” said WMU head coach Shane Clipfell. “She got in the guards’ heads a little bit and they didn’t want to put it on the floor.”
The Broncos held Holy Cross to only two field goals and eight total points in the second half. Both of those makes for the Crusaders came in the first four minutes of the half, as the team went the final 15:56 of the game without a field goal. Western Michigan trailed by 15 points, 38-23, at the time of Holy Cross' last made field goal and allowed only three points - all off free throws - over that final 15:56.
“We were resilient," Clipfell said. "We talked about in the first half how everything that could have gone wrong really went wrong for us. We fought off imploding from within and finally came together. I think it can be a huge growing point for us, having been in that situation. We haven’t been in that situation in a while.”
WMU responded to the rebounding challenge after being out-rebounded by 17 in a four-point loss to Stony Brook yesterday. The Broncos pulled down 40 rebounds, four more than Holy Cross, with Marquisha Harris leading the way with 11 boards. Miracle Woods and Michelle O’Brien each had nine rebounds apiece, O’Brien grabbing eight of those in the first half.
Woods totaled a team-high 17 points, as well as a career-high three assists, one block and a steal. Junior point guard Alex Morton had 16 points, keeping WMU afloat with eight in the first half.
Western Michigan committed 14 first-half turnovers and 23 for the game, however forced Holy Cross into 27 turnovers, including 18 in the second half.
WMU shot just 29.5 percent for the game and scored nearly half of its points (23 of 51) from the free throw line.
It was the final non-conference game of the season for WMU, which opens Mid-American Conference play with back-to-back home games against Akron (Jan. 3 - 2 p.m.) and Ohio (Jan. 7 - 7 p.m.).
Youngstown State 75, Akron 62
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - A 13-2 second-half scoring run proved to be the deciding factor which lifted Youngtown State (11-1) to a 75-62 women's basketball triumph over Akron (10-1) on Monday (Dec. 29) in front of 1,606 fans at the Beeghley Center.
The loss was the first of the season for the Zips, snapping their 10-game winning streak to open the campaign.
Junior Anita Brown (Warren, Ohio) led Akron with a team-high 24 points, including 16 in the second half, while finishing one rebound shy of recording her third double-double of the year. Senior Sina King (Waterford, Ohio) notched her team-leading seventh double-double of the season with an 18-point, 12-rebound effort.
Junior Katie Nunan (Fairmont, W. Va.) added nine points and four rebounds for the Zips off the bench.
The Penguins benefited from a pair of 25-point games courtesy of Heidi Schlegel and Latisha Walker. The Youngstown State' duo also collected 15 and 11 rebounds, respectively.
Akron finished the tilt connecting on nearly 39 percent (.389) of its attempts from the floor, while the Penguins sparked by a 47.8 percent shooting mark in the second half, shot the ball at a 42.4 percent clip for the game.
The Zips outrebounded Youngstown State, 41-40, including 15-12 on the offensive glass. Youngstown State though capitalized on its offensive rebounds posting an 18-12 margin in second-chance points on the evening.
One of its strengths all season has been shooting from beyond the arc and Akron struggled on the night making only one of its three-point attempts.
The two sides started the game exchanging the contest's first 12 points before a three-pointer by Schlegel gave the Penguins a 9-6 lead at the 16:38 mark. A jumper by King cut the deficit to 9-8 with 16:24 remaining in the half.
Youngstown State scored seven unanswered tallies to assume a 16-8 lead at the first media timeout. (15:14).
The Zips held the Penguins without a field goal for more than four minutes (4:22), but were only able to get jumpers by sophomore Hannah Plybon (Orrville, Ohio) and Nunan to bring Akron to within four points, 16-12.
After back-to-back baskets by the Penguins, the Zips scored six of the next eight points to close the gap to 22-18 on a jumper by freshman Kerri McMahan (Novi, Mich.) at the 8:16 mark.
Following a three-pointer and pair of free throws from Schlegel, Akron saw its deficit pushed to 27-20.
The Zips answered scoring nine of the next 11 points to square the game at 29, on jumper by King at the 3:42 mark.
The two teams exchanged the next two baskets before Schlegel converted a basket and a free throw with nine seconds left in the initial stanza to send Youngstown State into the intermission leading 34-31.
Akron connected on nearly 52 percent (.517) of its attempts from the field in the first half, while limiting the Penguins to a 38.9 percent shooting mark. The Zips outrebounded Youngstown State, 18-17, including 14-9 on the defensive glass.
The Penguins found their mark in the initial stanza with offensive rebounds as Youngstown State used an 8-4 advantage on the offensive glass to garner a 16-4 margin in second-chance points.
Brown scored the first seven points of the second half for the Zips to even the affair at 38 on a jumper at the 17:14 mark.
A lay-up and a free throw by Nunan with 15:54 remaining gave Akron its first and ultimately only lead of the game, 43-42.
The Penguins scored 13 on the next 15 points, including a 9-0 run, to assume a 55-45 lead with nine minutes left. A jumper by King at the 8:14 mark ended Youngstown State's 13-2 scoring run.
Plybon delivered Akron's lone three-pointer of the contest with 7:29 left in the affair.
The Penguins hit their free throws down the stretch to exit the game with a 75-62 victory.
The Zips return to action on Saturday, Jan. 3, opening their Mid-American Conference slate with a 2 p.m. tilt at Western Michigan.
Hampton 64, Bowling Green 53
Early turnover foes, combined with a hot-shooting start by the opponents, proved to be too much for the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team to overcome Monday night (Dec. 29). The Falcons fell, 64-53, to Hampton University in opening-round action at the FIU Sun & Fun Classic.
With the loss, BGSU drops to 7-3 on the season, and the Falcons will face host FIU on Tuesday night (Dec. 30).
Senior Deborah Hoekstra led the Falcons with 13 points vs. the Lady Pirates, while freshman Rachel Myers had 10 points off the bench. Fellow freshman Haley Puk scored nine points and led all players with eight rebounds on Monday night.
Malia Tate-DeFreitas had 26 points for Hampton, including 17 in the first half, while Kyani White scored 17 points for HU. Four players combined for 60 of the Lady Pirates' 64 points, as Kenia Cole scored nine points and Ryan Jordan added eight.
White had six assists for HU, while Cole added five helpers. Jordan paced the Lady Pirates with seven rebounds as Hampton had a 34-30 advantage on the boards. White had 11 of her points and five of her six assists in the first period.
Tate-DeFreitas and White combined for 13 of their team's first 15 points. The Falcons had not trailed by double digits at any point this season prior to Monday night, but Hampton burst out to a 23-6 lead midway through the first half, and took an 18-point advantage into the intermission.
That lead reached a game-high 22 points early in the second period. The Falcons battled back, but could not get any closer than 10 points.
BGSU turned the ball over 18 times, but 12 of those turnovers came in the first half, as Hampton had a whopping 21-0 advantage in points off turnovers in the opening 20 minutes. The Falcons turned the ball over on the game's first three possessions and on five of the first six trips down the floor. Because of those turnovers, BG had just two field-goal attempts over the game's first five-plus minutes.
Meanwhile, HU went 7-for-11 from the floor to start the game, taking a 15-4 lead six-and-a-half minutes into the contest.
The Lady Pirates took a 4-0 lead before the Falcons got on the board just over two minutes into the game. Sophomore Abby Siefker scored on a driving layup, but that shot would be one of just three successful Falcon field goals in the first half.
A reverse layup by White, followed by a shot in the paint from Jordan, gave HU an 8-2 lead. Siefker got to the line and split a pair of free throws, but Tate-DeFrietas hit a jumper to make it a 10-3 game. After junior Miriam Justinger made 1-of-2 tosses from the stripe, Cole's long outlet pass found White ahead of the pack for a layup, and a Tate-DeFrietas triple made it a 15-4 game as the Falcons used a timeout.
Justinger scored on a driving banker, but Cole's shot in the lane began an 8-0 run for the Lady Pirates. When Jordan hit a jumper from the foul line extended, HU had that 23-6 lead with 9:25 left before halftime.
BG scored four-straight points, all from the free-throw line, as Hoekstra and Myers each connected twice, but Tate-DeFreitas hit a long three-pointer, and Hampton's lead was 26-10.
The Lady Pirates were whistled for their 10th foul of the half with 7:21 remaining and Hoekstra knocked down two more shots from the stripe. But, White hit a three-pointer with a hand in her face, and the lead was 29-12.
Sophomore Rachel Konieczki drove the lane and kicked the ball to Hoekstra for a corner three with just over four minutes left in the half, cutting BG's deficit to 14 points at 31-17, but the Lady Pirates scored five of the last six points of the period, capped by another Tate-DeFreitas shot from well beyond the three-point line. HU took a 36-18 lead at the break.
The Falcons shot just 18.8 percent from the floor in the first half, making only three field goals in 16 attempts. Meanwhile, HU went 16-for-30 (53.3%) from the field. BGSU did go 11-of-14 from the free-throw line, while Hampton did not attempt a single free throw in the opening 20 minutes.
The Falcons' deficit reached a game-high 22 points early in the second period after a second-chance jumper by Jordan and a hoop by White. BG scored four-straight points, as Justinger hit two shots at the line and Hoekstra knocked down a foul-line jumper. Tyler Hobgood countered with a layup for the Lady Pirates, but Konieczki fed Siefker for a layup inside, and the score was 42-24.
Moments later, redshirt freshman Kennedy Kirkpatrick stole a pass by Jordan near midfield, headed downcourt and hit a transition layup over a leaping defender. Then, after a Hampton miss, Justinger found Myers for a three-pointer from the wing, and the Falcons had cut the HU lead to 14 points, 43-29.
Cole made a layup, but Myers connected from long range yet again, taking a Kirkpatrick pass and converting from the corner to make it a 45-32 game. But, after a pair of offensive rebounds by the Lady Pirates, Tate-DeFreitas hit a straightaway trey.
Back battled the Falcons, as Kirkpatrick lobbed the ball inside to freshman Sarah Baer. Baer's nifty catch and layup cut the deficit to 14 points. When Puk scored inside, it was a 12-point game with under eight minutes left.
HU scored on a putback, but BG made four-straight shots at the line, courtesy of Myers and Puk, and Hampton's lead was 50-40 with 6:25 to go. The Lady Pirates scored the next three points, but Konieczki drove the lane and dished the ball to a wide-open Puk in the left corner. Puk's triple try found nothing but net, and BG trailed by a 53-43 count with five minutes to go.
The Falcons would get no closer than that 10-point deficit, however. BG crept within 10 points on three more occasions, but the Lady Pirates answered each time. HU increased the lead to 14 points with just over two minutes left, but a Hoekstra layup and Puk's steal and contested left-hander made it a 10-point game again, and BG used a timeout with 1:17 remaining.
After a Falcon foul, Tate-DeFreitas missed two free-throw tries, but a BG three-point attempt was off the mark, and Tate-DeFreitas went in ahead of the pack and scored after corralling a long rebound.
Konieczki and Hoekstra hit shots in the final minute, but the Lady Pirates made just enough free throws to keep the lead in double digits the rest of the way.
The Falcons shot 44.4% from the field in the second half, for a 34.9% rate on the evening. HU shot 34.6% in the second period and 44.6% in the game.
Justinger scored seven points and had two blocked shots on the night, while Siefker had five points and five rebounds for the Falcons. Konieczki scored four points, Baer three and Kirkpatrick two as all eight Falcons who saw action hit at least one field goal. Each of the eight players played at least 12 minutes as well.
BGSU will face host FIU in Tuesday's second game in the Sun & Fun Classic, with tipoff scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Auburn, an 81-44 winner over FIU in Monday's opener, will meet Hampton in Tuesday's first game, beginning at 3:30 p.m.
