7-23 (3-13MAC)
Eastern Michigan
22-7 (11-5MAC)
Upset Bid Falls Short As UB's Season Comes To An End
3/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
YPSILANTI, MI – With just about 13 minutes left in Saturday afternoon's MAC First Round game, it looked like the University at Buffalo women's basketball team was poised to make the tournament's first upset, however the host Eastern Michigan Eagles were able to come back for a 66-56 victory at the Convocation Center. UB's season comes to a close at 7-23.
UB got off to an early lead at 4-3 but the Eagles were able to take the lead as they led by as many as eight in the opening half. Six straight UB points put the Bulls within two, but Eastern Michigan again led by as many as seven points. The Bulls kept it close and went into the half down just five at 30-25.
The first seven minutes of the second half belonged to UB as the Bulls started the half on a 21-9 run, taking their largest lead of the game at 46-39. The Bulls were up by five when Eastern Michigan tied the game up at 49 with 9:08 left. With the two teams tied at 53, the Eagles would go on to end the game on a 13-3 run, including a 6-for-8 performance from the free throw line.
The Bulls were led by 19 points and a game-high 16 rebounds from junior Kourtney Brown. With her 19 points, Brown broke her own school record for single-season scoring as she finishes the year with 535 points. Last season, Brown had 532 points. The Solon, OH native already broke the school record for rebounds in a season and finishes the year with 346 boards, the third highest total from a player in Mid-American Conference history. Brown also added five blocks on the day, giving her 63 on the year, the second most in school history.
Sophomore Brittany Hedderson finished with 15 points and four rebounds, but played just 24 minutes due to foul trouble. Junior Jessica Fortman finished with seven points, nine rebounds, three assists and three blocks, while Ashley Zuber also added seven points and three assists. Senior Dayna Smith had four points in her final game in a UB uniform and finished the season a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
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The UB defense did a nice job on Tavelyn James, the MAC's leading scorer. James, who had 40 points the first time the two teams met, had just 14 points on 3-of-14 shooting. Cassie Schrock led the way with 27 points and four steals.
