Sunday, November 16
Buffalo, NY
2:00pm
University at Buffalo
1-3,0-0MAC
67
vs
59
Fordham
3-2,0-0Atlantic 10
1
2
3
4
F
Fordham
16
7
22
14
59
Buffalo
11
17
20
19
67
Photo by: Paul Hokanson/UB Athletics
Bulls Defeat Fordham 67-59 on Special Day at Alumni Arena
11/16/2025 5:42:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY – In a game that featured 11 lead chances and 10 ties, the University at Buffalo women's basketball team persevered to defeat Fordham 67-59 at Alumni Arena on Sunday afternoon.
It was the first win for head coach Kristen Sharkey and the day was made even more special by the dozens of former Bulls who were in attendance for Alumni Day, including several members of the 2016 Mid-American Conference championship team who were honored during a special in-game presentation.
Junior guard Paula Lopez led the Bulls in scoring for the third straight game as she scored a game-high 19 points, including four makes from beyond the arc. Redshirt freshman guard Aniya Rowe stuffed the stat sheet, scoring a career-high 14 points to go with seven rebounds and six assists and freshman forward Meg Lucas recorded her first career double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
To start things off, Lopez drained a three on the wing and later, Rowe got to the rim for layups on back-to-back possessions to tie the game at seven at the media timeout. Lucas then got going out of the break as she knocked down a pair of mid-range jumpers, but Fordham ended the quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 16-11 lead at the end of the first.
The Rams scored on their first possession of the second quarter, but Buffalo answered with a 9-2 run, capped by a layup from Ella Corry and a pair of tough buckets by Janyah Bohanon to tie the game at 20 at the media timeout. Bohanon continued to attack the glass as she skied up for an offensive rebound and finished through contact and then Rowe put an exclamation point on the half with a deep triple from the wing to give the Bulls a 28-23 lead at the half.
Buffalo got hot from beyond the arc as Lopez, Rowe and Gabby McDuffie connected on a trio of triples to put UB up by 10 at the 7:15 mark and later, Lopez curled off a screen and knocked down a deep three from the wing to give Buffalo a 42-33 midway through the quarter. The Rams used a 7-0 run to trim the lead to two, before Deana Thompson went into attack mode getting to the free throw line on back-to-back possessions and Lopez beat the buzzer with a deep three to put UB up by eight, but Fordham answered with a 5-0 run in the final minute to cut the UB lead to 48-45 at the end of the third.
Fordham opened the fourth quarter on a 5-0 run to take a one-point lead and force a UB timeout at the 7:54 mark. The Bulls settled down as Lopez hit Lucas with a lob pass for a layup and then Rowe was left open on the wing and capitalized, draining a three, to give UB a 54-51 lead at the final media timeout (4:56). Lopez continued to stay aggressive as she turned the corner and got a layup plus the foul to put UB up by three with 2:45 remaining. The hosts tied the game at 57 on the next possession but it was all Buffalo from there as Thomspon sliced to the basket for a layup and then she, Lopez and Lucas went 6-of-6 from the charity stripe in the final minute to secure the victory.
"Really proud of their effort," said Sharkey. "Going into this game we talked about how you had to want it, and you had to go take it, you can't expect a team to give us anything. It was a possession-by-possession game there at the end and our players hit some big-time shots."
"Super grateful to be here and grateful for Mark Alnutt and D'Ann Keller for trusting me with this program. Buffalo has been one of the best mid-major programs in the country for the last 15 years, so to be able to lead it now means the world to me."
Up next, Buffalo will make the trip to St. Bonaventure for a clash with the Bonnies on Wednesday, November 19 at 6pm.
For all the latest on UB women's basketball, follow @UBWomensBasketball on Twitter/X and Instagram and like the UB Women's Basketball Facebook page.
Click here for information on the Blue & White Fund and how you can help UB Athletics.
It was the first win for head coach Kristen Sharkey and the day was made even more special by the dozens of former Bulls who were in attendance for Alumni Day, including several members of the 2016 Mid-American Conference championship team who were honored during a special in-game presentation.
Junior guard Paula Lopez led the Bulls in scoring for the third straight game as she scored a game-high 19 points, including four makes from beyond the arc. Redshirt freshman guard Aniya Rowe stuffed the stat sheet, scoring a career-high 14 points to go with seven rebounds and six assists and freshman forward Meg Lucas recorded her first career double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
To start things off, Lopez drained a three on the wing and later, Rowe got to the rim for layups on back-to-back possessions to tie the game at seven at the media timeout. Lucas then got going out of the break as she knocked down a pair of mid-range jumpers, but Fordham ended the quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 16-11 lead at the end of the first.
The Rams scored on their first possession of the second quarter, but Buffalo answered with a 9-2 run, capped by a layup from Ella Corry and a pair of tough buckets by Janyah Bohanon to tie the game at 20 at the media timeout. Bohanon continued to attack the glass as she skied up for an offensive rebound and finished through contact and then Rowe put an exclamation point on the half with a deep triple from the wing to give the Bulls a 28-23 lead at the half.
Buffalo got hot from beyond the arc as Lopez, Rowe and Gabby McDuffie connected on a trio of triples to put UB up by 10 at the 7:15 mark and later, Lopez curled off a screen and knocked down a deep three from the wing to give Buffalo a 42-33 midway through the quarter. The Rams used a 7-0 run to trim the lead to two, before Deana Thompson went into attack mode getting to the free throw line on back-to-back possessions and Lopez beat the buzzer with a deep three to put UB up by eight, but Fordham answered with a 5-0 run in the final minute to cut the UB lead to 48-45 at the end of the third.
Fordham opened the fourth quarter on a 5-0 run to take a one-point lead and force a UB timeout at the 7:54 mark. The Bulls settled down as Lopez hit Lucas with a lob pass for a layup and then Rowe was left open on the wing and capitalized, draining a three, to give UB a 54-51 lead at the final media timeout (4:56). Lopez continued to stay aggressive as she turned the corner and got a layup plus the foul to put UB up by three with 2:45 remaining. The hosts tied the game at 57 on the next possession but it was all Buffalo from there as Thomspon sliced to the basket for a layup and then she, Lopez and Lucas went 6-of-6 from the charity stripe in the final minute to secure the victory.
"Really proud of their effort," said Sharkey. "Going into this game we talked about how you had to want it, and you had to go take it, you can't expect a team to give us anything. It was a possession-by-possession game there at the end and our players hit some big-time shots."
"Super grateful to be here and grateful for Mark Alnutt and D'Ann Keller for trusting me with this program. Buffalo has been one of the best mid-major programs in the country for the last 15 years, so to be able to lead it now means the world to me."
Up next, Buffalo will make the trip to St. Bonaventure for a clash with the Bonnies on Wednesday, November 19 at 6pm.
For all the latest on UB women's basketball, follow @UBWomensBasketball on Twitter/X and Instagram and like the UB Women's Basketball Facebook page.
Click here for information on the Blue & White Fund and how you can help UB Athletics.
Team Stats
FU
UB
FG%
.292
.350
3FG%
.130
.400
FT%
.900
.773
RB
35
53
TO
17
23
STL
13
6
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
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