19-11
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Western Michigan
20-12
UB Women's Basketball is MAC Semifinal Bound, Sneaks Past Western, 63-60
3/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
CLEVELAND, OH – The fourth-seeded University at Buffalo, State University of New York women's basketball team edged fifth-seeded Western Michigan, 63-60, Thursday afternoon in the Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinals at Quicken Loans Arena.
Having hit just the front end of two twice on the day, freshman Stephanie Reid went to the free throw line with 23 ticks on the clock. With the Bulls (19-11) holding a 61-60 advantage over the Broncos (20-12), Reid swished both. WMU attempted to tie the game for the 10th time, putting up a three with five seconds lingering in the game, but sophomore Joanna Smith came away with the rebound to run out the clock.
"What a fantastic game, what a fantastic conference we have," opened Felisha Legette-Jack. "I told our ladies that it's about our story. It's about our time."
The Bulls return to the MAC Tournament semifinals for just the second time in program history. UB, who secured its first 19-win season since 2000-01, first made the conference semis during the 2008-09 season. The Bulls will face the top-seeded Ohio Bobcats on Friday at noon. The game will be televised on Time Warner Cable Sports-Buffalo and steamed on ESPN3. Additional live coverage will also be available.
"An ugly win is always better than a pretty loss," stated Legette-Jack. "It wasn't the best kind of win, but good teams find a way to win. Today, on the back of Kristen Sharkey, we found a way to win."
The Broncos opened the game on a 6-0 run, taking its largest lead of the game at 16:55, but the Bulls answered with 10 straight. UB extended its streak to 14-1, en route to its largest margin, 14-7, at 11:09. Western battled back to tie the game at 2:39. The Bulls inched ahead, 28-24, with a Sharkey three at the 33-second mark, the first triple of the game, but the Broncos responded with one of their own, pulling within 28-27 at the break.
The second stint featured 16 lead changes and seven ties, as neither squad led by more than three points. The Bulls led the rebounding count, 47-36, with each team going inside to score 20 points during the latter 20.
Sharkey tallied her eighth double-double of the season and 23rd of her career with a season- and game-best 13 rebounds to go with 19 points. Nine of her boards came in the first half, while 12 of her points came in the second. Reid put up 16 and added a trio of assists. Junior Mackenzie Loesing posted 10 points, while Smith had eight and eight, a career-best performance on the boards. Senior Christa Baccas chipped in six points and nine rebounds.
Western was paced by Miracle Woods' 27 points on 9-for-16 shooting. She connected on 9-of-10 at the line and added Bronco-bests of nine rebounds and three blocks. WMU had three dish out three assists, though Woods was the only one to score more than six points. Six Broncos scored five or six points apiece.
Both teams took care of the ball with WMU committing nine turnovers and UB just eight. The Broncos narrowly outshot the Bulls, 38.6 percent to 37.5 percent, as UB improved to 13-1 in 2014-15 when allowing 60 points or less.
Playing Western in the MAC Tournament for the first time, UB improved to 8-16 in tournament action since joining the league in 1998-99. Legette-Jack is 3-2 in the postseason at UB.
Ohio twice edged the Bulls during the regular season. The Bobcats defeated UB, 61-50, in their MAC opener on Jan. 3 at Alumni Arena, before defeating the Bulls, 78-70, on Feb. 25.
