Bulls Clinch Spot in MAC Tournament with Senior Day Win Over Western Michigan

Saturday, March 4

Buffalo, NY

2:00pm

12-15,7-11MAC

Western Michigan

12-17,7-11MAC

Western Mich.

Buffalo

Photo by: Paul Hokanson/UBBulls.com

Bulls Clinch Spot in MAC Tournament with Senior Day Win Over Western Michigan

3/4/2023 5:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo women's basketball team clinched a spot in the 2023 Mid-American Conference Tournament with a 72-67 win over Western Michigan on Senior Day at Alumni Arena on Wednesday.

The Bulls earned the eighth seed in next week's tournament and will face top-seeded Toledo at 11am on Wednesday, March 8 in the first quarterfinal game of the day at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.

Buffalo's seniors shined in the win as they combined for 63 of UB's 72 points on the afternoon. Re'Shawna Stone led all scorers with 23 points to go with seven rebounds and six assists while Zakiyah Winfield recorded her 15^th double-double of the season with 20 points and 12 rebounds while adding six assists. Jazmine Young scored 11 points to go with six rebounds and three steals and senior Latrice Perkins and freshman Hattie Ogden added nine points each.

The Bulls opened the game on a 7-0 run, capped by a triple from Stone, to take an early lead. Western Michigan answered with back-to-back baskets to pull within three, but Ogden answered with a deep three to put UB up 10-4 at the first media timeout. The Broncos used a 7-1 run to tie the game at 11 before Perkins got a bucket plus the foul to put UB back on top. Later, Winfield sliced to the basket for a layup off glass and Stone beat the buzzer with a beautiful reverse layup to give the Bulls an 18-16 lead at the end of the first.

The Broncos hit back-to-back threes to retake the lead early in the second quarter, but the Bulls stayed poised and got aggressive as Winfield drove to the basket for two, Perkins scored on two straight possessions and then Ogden knocked down another triple to put UB up 31-24 at the media timeout. The Bulls extended their run to 11-0 on midrange jumpers from Winfield and a pair of free throws by Young to take a 39-24 lead and force a WMU timeout at the 2:33 mark but the Broncos answered with a pair of threes to cut the UB lead to 39-30 at the half.

Western Michigan opened the third quarter on a 9-2 run to cut the UB lead to two and force a timeout at the 6:59 mark. The Broncos then retook the lead on a three before Winfield knocked down a mid-range jumper and Ogden and Winfield drilled back-to-back triples to put UB up 49-45 at the media timeout. Buffalo continued to attack as Perkins and Stone scored on a pair of layups before Young got a long two to drop from the win and Stone finished an acrobatic layup off glass through contact to give Buffalo a 61-52 lead at the end of the third.

Western Michigan made a pair of threes on their opening two possessions to cut the UB lead to three early in the fourth quarter. Both defenses locked down for a stretch before Stone finished a pair of tough layups to put Buffalo up 65-59 at the final media timeout. The Broncos used a 6-1 run to pull within two with 1:26 remaining but that would be as close as they would get as the Bulls converted at the charity stripe and came up with a pair of big stops in the final seconds to secure the victory.

For the third straight game Buffalo won the battle on the glass, outrebounding WMU 41-33 while also holding a 38-22 advantage in the paint. UB added 12 points off WMU turnovers and scored 15 fastbreak points.

"Pure joy for the young women in our locker room and this staff and the fans that have stuck by us all year," said head coach Becky Burke. "I think if you watched us from beginning to end, you truly formed an appreciation for this team and you can't help but feel so happy that they punched their ticket with this win today. Can't say enough how proud I am, and we are ready to go play again in Cleveland."

For more information on the 2023 MAC Tournament click here.