15-11 (8-7MAC)
Ohio
9-17 (4-11MAC)
Bulls Lose at Ohio, 83-71
2/27/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ATHENS, OH – The Buffalo women's basketball team lost on the road Thursday evening, falling victim to an Ohio Bobcat team that had lost 10 straight games coming into tonight by a score of 83-71. Thanks in large part to a season-high 32 free throws made from the host, the Bulls were unable to overcome a slow start and fall to 15-11 overall and 8-7 in the Mid-American Conference.
Karin Moss led the team with 19 points, which sets a new career high for the sophomore guard. She would hit 17 of those points in the second half as the Bulls fell victim to foul trouble up and down its lineup.
After limiting Ohio (9-17, 4-11 MAC) to just 43 points and a 25 percent shooting day in the Feb. 6 meeting, the Bobcats were on a tear in the first half, hitting six threes and shooting 46 percent. The UB interior was depleted quickly due to foul trouble for Kristen Sharkey and Alexus Malone, and Mackenzie Loesing would play just nine minutes of her own thanks to foul issues. The Bulls would commit nine turnovers and shoot 40 percent from the field, and found itself down 40-30 at the break.
While the Buffalo defense would tighten up, it would be free throws that would dictate the final 20 minutes.
Ohio would keep UB at an arm's length for much of the second half, only allowing the Bulls to get within four points (at the nine-minute mark). Both Loesing and Sharkey would begin to roll early in the half, with Sharkey scoring the team's first four points and Loesing nearly unstoppable for an early stretch. For every basket the Bulls would muster, the Bobcats would have an answer at either the line or from the field, but predominantly at the line. The home side would take 29 free throws in the second half alone en route to a 43-attempt night, highlighted by Quiera Lampkins making 17-21 for the game. On the flip side, Buffalo would attempt just 15 free throws but would make 12 of them.
The Bulls grew frustrated as the final half wore on, and the frustration would cost them. Down 67-60 with 4:04 left to play, Kristen Sharkey turned the corner on the drive and was called for an offensive foul that would be her fifth – disqualifying her from the game. Loesing would then be called for a technical foul protesting the call, with the tech coming as her fifth foul as well. Both would sit the final stretch of the game, but Moss would shoulder the load with eight points after the controversial call.
The loss hurt the Bulls in the fast-developing race for the fourth seed in the upcoming MAC tournament. Now in a three-way tie for fourth, the Bulls have temporarily relinquished the fourth seed to Western Michigan, to whom it lost the head-to-head matchup. The Bulls remain ahead of Toledo, who lost to Northern Illinois to fall to 8-7 as well.
The team will have a quick turnaround in its final road trip of the regular season. It will head west for a Saturday afternoon game at Miami (OH). Tip time is scheduled for 2 pm.
