Ohio can’t complete comeback at Buffalo | Sports
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Ohio women’s basketball team was unable to make it a clean sweep against the Buffalo Bulls.
Buffalo avenged a two-point loss in Athens from earlier in the season, beating the Bobcats 79-65 on Wednesday at Alumni Arena.
Buffalo jumped out to 25-11 lead after one quarter and never lost the advantage.
Ohio (14-11 overall) fell to 8-8 in the Mid-American Conference.
The Bobcats are in a race to claim one of the eight qualifying spots for the MAC Tournament. Ohio is currently in seventh place in a crowded field.
The Bobcats are just ahead of Western Michigan and Bowling Green, both of which are 8-9. Kent State and Northern Illinois are both 9-8 and a half-game ahead of Ohio.
Buffalo improved to 19-8 overall and 13-4 in the MAC. The Bulls are second in the conference standings.
Gabby Burris led Ohio with 16 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and three steals.
Cece Hooks added 14 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, five steals and two blocks.
Madi Mace accounted for 13 points, five rebounds and two steals for Ohio, while Yaya Felder came off the bench to score 10 points. Erica Johnson added nine points and three assists, while Kaylee Baumbule added three points.
Ohio was held to 30.6 percent shooting from the field, 22 of 72.
Buffalo won the rebounding battle 56-31. The Bulls also shot 43.8 percent from the field — 28 of 64 — while outscoring Ohio in the paint 42-22.
Georgia Woolley led Buffalo with 27 points on 9 of 20 shooting with eight rebounds and four assists.
Dyaisha Fair added 21 points and four assists for the Bulls, with Summer Hemphill adding 19 points and 19 rebounds.
Buffalo led 14-3 after Hemphill’s layup in the first quarter. The lead went up to 32-14 with 6:48 left in the second quarter after Adebola Adeyeye’s layup. Ohio trailed 43-25 at halftime.
Ohio still trailed by 22 points after three quarters, 61-39.
The Bobcats started the fourth quarter on a 21-6 run to trail just 67-60 after Mace’s layup with 3:03 to play.
Fair answered with a 3-pointer for Buffalo to restore a 10-point lead, 70-60, with 2:44 remaining.
Ohio had a turnover, and Woolley hit another 3-pointer for the Bulls to lift the lead to 73-60 with 2:04 left.
The Bobcats return home on Saturday for a 1 p.m. start against Akron in the Convocation Center. Ohio won at Akron, 69-66, on Monday, as the teams play for the second time in six days.
Akron is 11-6 in the MAC, and currently holds the No. 3 seed in the conference.