The women's basketball team ended its season in a fitting way on Saturday afternoon – frantically trying to claw its way from behind but ultimately falling short.
The Bulls (9-22, 4-12 Mid-American Conference) lost in the first round of the MAC tournament 96-82 to Akron (14-17, 7-9 MAC), despite a 49-point second half outburst and a 31-point showing by senior guard Brittany Hedderson.
The Bulls had faced Akron just four days earlier, but avenging the loss was not to be.
Poor first half play hurt Buffalo the entire season and Saturday afternoon's first round contest was no different, as the Bulls allowed 58 points in the first half – the highest total first half points scored by an opponent this season.
Akron was hot from the start as it started 8-of-9 from the field. The Zips continued the trend from behind the arc, as they connected on 10-of-15 threes behind guard Taylor Ruper's six first half 3-pointers.
The Bulls had connected on just one 3-pointer in the first half which was a part of an abysmal 13-of-41 shooting effort. Akron almost doubled the Bulls' shooting percentage and shot 20-32 from the floor in the first half.
"Akron really hurt us in threes and in transition in the first half," said head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald. "But we came out in the second half, settled down, and got a little more aggressive offensively and defensively."
It looked as though the game was getting out of hand for the Bulls, who trailed by 32 with 12:30 left in the game.
But the Bulls never relinquished their fight as they pulled off a 12-2 run, and then a 19-6 run to pull within 11 points with 4:27 left to play, but Buffalo would get no closer than that.
"We outplayed Akron in every aspect in the second half but dug ourselves way too big of a hole in the first half," Hill-MacDonald said. "We were down way too much to overcome that type of deficit."
The second half surge was led by Hedderson, who scored just seven points in the first half, but finished with a game high 31-points in what would be her last collegiate game ever.
Sophomore forward Nytor Longar also established herself late after being in foul trouble most of the first half. She scored 18 of her 23 points for the game in the second half, to go along with 11 rebounds.
With the loss, the Bulls said goodbye to the season as well as four graduating seniors.
Hedderson, guards Ephesia Holmes, and Teresa Semalulu as well as forward Beth Christensen all played their final games in a Bulls uniform.
Hill-MacDonald was appreciative to have such an outstanding senior class.
"It's really rewarding to see the growth of players throughout the years," Hill-MacDonald said. "When they got on the court, they took full opportunity and I'm extremely proud of how they represented our team and our campus."
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