Bulls Drop Heartbreaker to Toledo in MAC Tournament Quarterfinals

Wednesday, March 8

Cleveland, OH / Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse

11:00am

12-16,7-11MAC

No.1 Toledo

26-4,16-2MAC

OT 1

Buffalo

Toledo

Bulls Drop Heartbreaker to Toledo in MAC Tournament Quarterfinals

3/8/2023 3:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The University at Buffalo women's basketball team saw the 2022-23 season come to an end in heartbreaking fashion, as the Bulls fell to Toledo 75-74 in overtime in the Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinals at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Wednesday.

The Bulls had a pair of good looks in the final seconds of both regulation and overtime, but Re'Shawna Stone's shot attempt bounced around before falling out at the end of regulation and her shot in the final seconds of overtime was met by the Toledo defense for a called jump ball leaving just .5 seconds on the clock and UB's final attempt missed the mark as time expired.

Three Bulls scored in double figures, led by fifth year guard Zakiyah Winfield who scored a game-high 22 points to go with seven rebounds, two assists, three steals and two blocks. Stone scored 18 points while adding eight rebounds and four assists and Jazmine Young scored 13 points in her final game in the blue and white.

Fifth year guard Latrice Perkins had a special moment in the final game of her career as she scored her 1,000^th career point in emphatic fashion on a big three-pointer from the corner in the final minutes of the first half.

The Bulls scored on the opening possession of the game on a layup by Emerita Mashaire and later, the sophomore drilled a triple from the top of the key to put UB ahead by two. The Rockets answered with a basket on their next possession to tie the game at seven at the first media timeout. Young took it strong to the rim and finished off glass through contact and Hattie Ogden drilled a triple from the wing to put Buffalo up 14-12. Later, Winfield attacked, scoring on back-to-back possessions, and the Bulls would maintain a 18-15 lead at the end of the first.

The Rockets scored on their first possession of the second quarter before Buffalo answered with back-to-back triples from Ogden and Mashaire to go up 24-21, but the Rockets answered with a 12-2 run to take a 33-26 lead at the 5:15 mark. The Bulls maintained composure as Winfield knocked down a mid-range jumper to end the UB scoring drought and Young followed with a three on the wing to pull the Bulls within two, 33-31, at the media timeout. Perkins gave the Bulls a lift, knocking down a massive three-pointer, before Stone knocked down a triple on UB's next possession and Winfield followed with a steal and fastbreak layup to cap an 8-0 run as the Bulls retook the lead and forced a Toledo timeout with 52 seconds to go in the half. Ogden continued to heat up as she drained a three from the corner, but the Rockets answered with a three of their own at the buzzer to cut the Buffalo lead to 42-40 at the break.

The Bulls defense locked down early in the third quarter as they held the Rockets scoreless for two minutes and the offense took advantage as Stone grabbed a big offensive rebound and powered up for a layup plus the foul and then Mashaire hit a cutting Winfield for a bucket to give UB a 46-42 lead. Toledo retook the lead on a three-pointer at the 4:11 mark but Winfield backed down her defender and finished off glass and Young and Mashaire went 4-of-4 from the charity stripe in the final minutes of the quarter to give the Bulls a 54-51 lead at the end of the third.

After the teams traded baskets early in the fourth quarter the Bulls offense hit a lag and the Rockets capitalized, using a 5-1 run to take a two-point lead before Winfield ended the drought with a turnaround jumper in the lane to tie the game at 58 at the 5:27 mark. Perkins grabbed a rebound and found Winfield for a fastbreak bucket to give the Bulls the lead, but the Rockets answered with a three to take a 62-60 lead with three minutes remaining. Winfield tied the game at 62 on a baseline jumper and later, Stone converted a pair of free throws to put UB up 68-65 but Quinesha Lockett hit a three to tie the game at 68 with 13.4 seconds to go and Stone's shot buzzer rattled around and out as the teams headed to overtime.

Stone continued to attack as she blew by her defender on Buffalo's first possession of extra time. The teams then traded defensive stops before Lockett hit a corner three to put Toledo up 71-70. Perkins hit a big shot just inside the top of they key on UB's next possession as Buffalo went back up on top, 72-71. Winfield sliced to the basket for a layup off glass as the Bulls took a 74-73 lead with 53 seconds remaining, but the Rockets got to the free throw line on their next possession and made both and UB was unable to score on their final possession.

Ogden was 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, finishing with nine points and fie rebounds, Mashaire recorded seven points and seven rebounds while Perkins added five points. Buffalo shot 42.9% from the floor, including 47% from three-point range, while converting 12-of-13 at the charity stripe. The Bulls edged the Rockets on the glass, 38-36, and were even with them in the paint, scoring 30 points inside.

"Proud of the 40 minutes of basketball that this team played today," said head coach Becky Burke. "Obviously not the outcome we wanted, but they left absolutely everything on the floor. I want to thank this team for one heck of a season and for laying a strong foundation for Buffalo women's basketball as we move forward."