Bulls' Buzzer Beater Grounds Eagles

It's a good thing that UB's South Campus has a medical school, because the women's basketball team nearly gave its fans a heart attack on Saturday afternoon. The Bulls (12-10, 5-4 Mid-American Conference) almost let Eastern Michigan (16-8, 7-3 MAC) come from behind to steal a game that they'd led by 16 points, but they were able to hold off the Eagles, winning 70-68. The victory gave Buffalo its second three-game winning streak of the season.

With 9:02 left in the game, the Bulls led 58-42 and looked to be on their way to easily disposing of the first-place team in the MAC West. The Eagles had other plans, though, rolling off an 18-4 run to bring the game within two points with less than four minutes remaining.

The two teams battled back and forth before the Eagles took their first lead since late in the first half with 49 seconds remaining. Eastern Michigan guard Tavelyn James converted on a layup to put the Eagles in front, but the team's leading scorer was contained otherwise in the game.

Head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald said after the game that her gameplan was centered on stopping James.

"We really studied her," Hill-MacDonald said. "[We studied] her game, and she's a player that can be very streaky. So the key is to get to her very early and not let her get open looks and feel comfortable, because if she gets started early she'll play well for 40 minutes. We felt that we really thwarted her effort very early."

James finished the game with only nine points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field and went 0-for-5 from behind the arc.

On the following possession, senior forward Kourtney Brown did what she always does: she came through when the Bulls needed her most. She scored the game-winning bucket to re-claim the lead for her team. Five missed shots by the Eagles secured the victory for the Bulls.

Brown finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds for her sixth straight double-double. She now has 44 for her career, and Hill-MacDonald couldn't say enough about her effort after the game.

"She's a legend already, and she's not even finished," Hill-MacDonald said. "She doesn't even amaze me anymore because I know that game after game she's going to come and play. Even if they hold her down in the first half, she's going to come back in the second half and get her numbers and do what she needs to do to make this team be successful."

The Eagles got an outstanding performance from senior guard Cassie Schrock. She finished with a game-high 29 points while grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out four assists.

Hill-MacDonald thought the Bulls outplayed Eastern Michigan in the game's final minutes to secure the win.

"I'm really proud of this team," Hill-MacDonald said. "It was a close game throughout. Even when we went up by a bit, it still felt like at any moment they could break through and hit a three or penetrate and get to the foul line. I'm just really pleased with the composure down the stretch that we showed and the defensive intensity."

Senior guard Ashley Zuber struggled from the field, going 1-for-9 in the game, but she found a way to contribute. She had a game-high seven assists and played all 40 minutes in the win.

The leadership shown in the game by several Bulls players didn't go unnoticed by Hill-MacDonald following the victory.

"The experience of this team is really helping us at this point in the season," Hill-MacDonald said. "Our younger players are seeing our veterans really show an example of how you need to compete, and [they are doing it] on every possession."

The Bulls return home to face Western Michigan (6-16, 2-7 MAC) on Tuesday at Alumni Arena. Tip-off is at 4:30 p.m.

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