Sunday, March 23
Buffalo, NY
2:00pm
26-7,13-5MAC
84
vs
82
UMass
17-15,11-7Atlantic 10
1
2
3
4
OT 1
F
Massachusetts
19
14
28
13
8
82
Buffalo
16
15
14
29
10
84
Photo by: Paul Hokanson / UB Athletics
Resilient, Balanced Bulls Rally to Overtime Win Against UMass in WNIT Second Round
3/23/2025 5:58:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY – Down by 16 entering the fourth quarter, the University at Buffalo women's basketball team engineered one of their patented second half comebacks as they rallied to an 84-82 overtime win over UMass in the second round of the WNIT in front of a boisterous Alumni Arena crowd on Sunday afternoon. It is the sixth fourth quarter comeback by UB this season, and third by a deficit of 10+ points.
It is the first postseason win for Buffalo since 2019 when the Bulls defeated Rutgers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
It was a balanced effort as five Bulls scored in double figures, led by Chellia Watson who had a historic day as she scored a game-high 26 points, including the 2,000th point of her storied career. Fifth year guard Noelani Cornfield also had a milestone afternoon as she recorded a double-double with 12 points and a career-high 15 assists, which is one shy of the single-game program record and surpasses the 500 career-assist mark. Senior forwards Jordyn Beaty and Ariana Seawell came up big for the Bulls, scoring 14 and 12 points, respectively, and sophomore Kirsten Lewis-Williams also scored in double figures with 12 points to go with a game-hight five steals.
The Bulls scored on their first two possessions of the game to take an early lead, but the visitors then scored on three straight trips down the floor to take a 12-6 lead at the media timeout. Watson got to the rim for a layup before Lewis-Williams added a pair of fastbreak buckets, the latter to beat the buzzer, to pull UB within three at the end of the first.
The Minutewomen hit a three on the first possession of the second quarter, but Lewis-Williams and Cornfield continued to attack to keep UB within five, 25-20, at the media timeout. The visitors drained a triple to go up by three, but Buffalo continued to attack as Cornfield found Seawell on the block for a layup and Lewis-Williams came up with a big-time block at the buzzer to cut the lead to 33-31 at the half.
Cornfield scored on UB's first possession of the third quarter and then Beaty knocked down a pair of free throws, but UMass answered with a 13-4 run to take a 10-point lead at the media timeout and they would lead 61-45 at the end of the third.
The Bulls then locked down defensively and turned defense into offense as they held the Minutewomen without a field goal for five minutes and capitalized, as they rattled off a 12-0 run to cut the lead to four at the 5:11 mark. After the visitors hit a three to end the drought, the Bulls answered with three straight buckets in the paint before converting four straight at the charity stripe to go up by two with just over one minute remaining. After UMass tied the game on a jumpshot with 55 seconds to go, the Bulls had a chance to win it in the final seconds but could not convert as the game headed to overtime.
Watson got the rebound off the opening tip in extra time and got a floater in the lane to drop and later, Beaty and Seawell went to work inside and scored on a pair of big layups to put UB up by two at the 1:50 mark and the Bulls came up with key defensive stops to secure the victory.
"I'm so grateful for everybody that came out and supported us today," said head coach Becky Burke. "Our atmosphere was amazing. I am so proud of our team and the toughness they showed for a full 40 minutes today. Our goal is to keep playing as long as we can, and we took a step toward that today. Excited for the next opportunity."
Up next, Buffalo will travel to Southern Indiana for a Super 16 contest on Thursday, March 27 at 7pm (EST).
For all the latest on UB women's basketball, follow @UBWomensBasketball on Twitter/X and Instagram and like the UB Women's Basketball Facebook pag
Click here for information on the Blue & White Fund and how you can help UB Athletics.
It is the first postseason win for Buffalo since 2019 when the Bulls defeated Rutgers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
It was a balanced effort as five Bulls scored in double figures, led by Chellia Watson who had a historic day as she scored a game-high 26 points, including the 2,000th point of her storied career. Fifth year guard Noelani Cornfield also had a milestone afternoon as she recorded a double-double with 12 points and a career-high 15 assists, which is one shy of the single-game program record and surpasses the 500 career-assist mark. Senior forwards Jordyn Beaty and Ariana Seawell came up big for the Bulls, scoring 14 and 12 points, respectively, and sophomore Kirsten Lewis-Williams also scored in double figures with 12 points to go with a game-hight five steals.
The Bulls scored on their first two possessions of the game to take an early lead, but the visitors then scored on three straight trips down the floor to take a 12-6 lead at the media timeout. Watson got to the rim for a layup before Lewis-Williams added a pair of fastbreak buckets, the latter to beat the buzzer, to pull UB within three at the end of the first.
The Minutewomen hit a three on the first possession of the second quarter, but Lewis-Williams and Cornfield continued to attack to keep UB within five, 25-20, at the media timeout. The visitors drained a triple to go up by three, but Buffalo continued to attack as Cornfield found Seawell on the block for a layup and Lewis-Williams came up with a big-time block at the buzzer to cut the lead to 33-31 at the half.
Cornfield scored on UB's first possession of the third quarter and then Beaty knocked down a pair of free throws, but UMass answered with a 13-4 run to take a 10-point lead at the media timeout and they would lead 61-45 at the end of the third.
The Bulls then locked down defensively and turned defense into offense as they held the Minutewomen without a field goal for five minutes and capitalized, as they rattled off a 12-0 run to cut the lead to four at the 5:11 mark. After the visitors hit a three to end the drought, the Bulls answered with three straight buckets in the paint before converting four straight at the charity stripe to go up by two with just over one minute remaining. After UMass tied the game on a jumpshot with 55 seconds to go, the Bulls had a chance to win it in the final seconds but could not convert as the game headed to overtime.
Watson got the rebound off the opening tip in extra time and got a floater in the lane to drop and later, Beaty and Seawell went to work inside and scored on a pair of big layups to put UB up by two at the 1:50 mark and the Bulls came up with key defensive stops to secure the victory.
"I'm so grateful for everybody that came out and supported us today," said head coach Becky Burke. "Our atmosphere was amazing. I am so proud of our team and the toughness they showed for a full 40 minutes today. Our goal is to keep playing as long as we can, and we took a step toward that today. Excited for the next opportunity."
Up next, Buffalo will travel to Southern Indiana for a Super 16 contest on Thursday, March 27 at 7pm (EST).
For all the latest on UB women's basketball, follow @UBWomensBasketball on Twitter/X and Instagram and like the UB Women's Basketball Facebook pag
Click here for information on the Blue & White Fund and how you can help UB Athletics.
Team Stats
UMass
UB
FG%
.468
.544
3FG%
.391
.200
FT%
.789
.800
RB
41
22
TO
28
18
STL
10
17
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
26
FGM
11
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
Forward
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