University at Buffalo
4-8
Oakland
5-6
Hedderson's School Record Leads Bulls To Overtime Victory
12/22/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY – Behind a school-record 39 points from senior Brittany Hedderson, the University at Buffalo women's basketball team came away with a 69-65 overtime thriller over Oakland University, Thursday afternoon at Alumni Arena. It was a wild afternoon that included a three-point play as time expired in regulation, 159 shots and 112 rebounds, but the Bulls prevailed as they improved to 4-8 on the year.
The Bulls led through out the opening half, riding the hot hand of Hedderson, who had 19 points before the break, accounting for all by nine of UB's first half points. A layup at the 13:15 mark of the first half by Nytor Longar gave the Bulls their largest lead of the game at eight. Oakland would pull as close as one, before heading into the break down two.
The second half began as the Golden Grizzlies went on to take their first lead with a pair of free throws at the 14:03 mark. However, the Bulls responded with a 9-2 run over the next three minutes, capped off on a couple of free throws from Longar. Oakland went on to regain a two point lead with 4:48 left in the half, but a huge three pointer from sophomore Margeaux Gupilan put the Bulls back on top. Oakland cut into the Buffalo lead a few more times as the Bulls led by just one with 1:03 left. That remained the case until Gupilan was fouled with 15 seconds left, hitting a pair of free throws. From there it looked as if the Bulls would be on their way to victory, but Oakland's Bethany Watterworth hit a layup as time expired and drew a foul. She hit her free throw to send the game in to overtime.
Hedderson got the extra period off to a quick start with a bucket, but Watterworth again put Oakland up with a three pointer. The lead was short lived as Gupilan came right back to drain a three pointer of her own. The Bulls got clutch free throw shooting from Longar and Beth Christensen in the extra period, leading by as many as four, which was their final margin of victory.
"I am extremely pleased with the way we fought for 45 minutes today," said Linda Hill-MacDonald. "I don't know if I've ever seen a performance like the one Brittany had today and the rest of the team did a great job complimenting her game out there on the floor."
The 39 points by Hedderson was the second time this season she went over the 30-point mark. The last time was a 31-point performance in UB's last home game against Canisius. It also marked a school record, which had stood for over 30 years. The previous record for points in a game was 38, which Regina Frazier set against D'Youville during the 1977-78 season. Hedderson completed the day with a career-high 11 rebounds for her second career double-double. She also had two blocked shots and two steals.
Longar recorded her first career double-double as she finished the day with 12 points and career-high 12 rebounds. She also added two blocked shots. Also coming off the bench was Gupilan, who scored a career-best 12 points, while adding five assists for the second straight game. Christensen had three points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and tied her career high with four blocked shots. Freshman Christa Baccas picked up her second career start, adding three points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
Oakland (5-6) got a solid performance from Watterworth, who finished with 28 points and seven rebounds. Brittany Carnago had 11 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots.
The Bulls will wrap up non-conference play next week when they head to Ames, IA for the Cyclone Challenge. UB will play NJIT in the first game on December, 29 at 6:00 pm EST.
