Bulls Defeat Bowling Green in MAC Quarterfinals

Wednesday, March 13

Cleveland, Ohio

Approx. 1:30pm

18-12,10-8MAC

Bowling Green (Quarterfinals)

16-14,10-8MAC

Bowling Green

Buffalo

Photo by: David Dermer

Bulls Defeat Bowling Green in MAC Quarterfinals

3/13/2024 5:13:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

CLEVELAND, OH – The University at Buffalo women's basketball team held off a tough Bowling Green squad, 70-64, in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Wednesday afternoon. The Bulls will next face top-seed Toledo on Friday morning in the tournament semifinals.

All-MAC First Team selection Chellia Watson led the Bulls in scoring with 24 points, including four three-pointers. Fellow senior Rana Elhusseini added 17 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Sophomore Hattie Ogden finished with 11 points, including three three-pointers and added five rebounds. Fresh off being named MAC Freshman of the Year, Kirsten Lewis-Williams had a solid all-around performance with 11 points, five rebounds, three assists and four steals.

It was all Buffalo early as the Bulls jumped out to an 18-5 lead and held a nine-point advantage at the end of the first quarter. UB would continue to lead 40-30 in the third quarter, before the Falcons went on a 16-1 scoring run to take a 46-41 lead with 2:34 left in the third.

Trailing, 50-46, early in the fourth quarter, the Bulls got hot from beyond the arc and ratcheted up their defensive pressure. Ogden and Watson drained back-to-back three-pointers to put UB ahead, 54-50. Watson then drained her third three-pointer of the game to extend the Buffalo lead to 59-50 midway through the fourth quarter. On the defensive end, the Bulls held Bowling Green scoreless for four minutes early in the final stanza.

However, the Falcons fought back and cut the UB lead to 61-60 with 2:51 left. Ogden knocked down a three-pointer on UB's next possession to extend its lead to four. After Bowling Green knotted the game at 64 with 54 seconds left, Lewis-Williams made a free throw to put the Bulls ahead, 65-64. Later, with the Bulls leading, 66-64 and 13 seconds left, Elhusseini sealed the victory with a steal and two made free throws.

The Bulls shot 49% from the floor overall and 44% from behind the arc on the afternoon. Buffalo's defense shone once again as they forced 16 BGSU miscues which they turned into 22 points while also adding 12 fastbreak points.

"Very excited about the outcome of today's game and most importantly I think it was a great game for our conference and this tournament," said head coach Becky Burke. "You want to see good basketball in the women's game and specifically the MAC so credit to Bowling Green for competing and really make us work for that. After losing a heartbreaker last year in the opening round, for us to make that stride to get to the second round is huge. We had to fight, take some punches and be resilient and we were mature and tough through so many big moments."

The Bulls and Rockets are the first semifinal game of the day on Friday, with tipoff set for 10am.