After a win over Youngstown State in its season opener, the women's basketball team headed south for warmer weather and two basketball games in South Carolina.
In their first road game of the season, the Bulls (2-1) played Presbyterian College on Thursday Nov. 15.
An early nine-point run, which featured a three-pointer from freshman guard Tieara Jones put the Bulls ahead for most of the first half. The Blue Hose came within two but were unable to tie the game for the remainder of the half, and Buffalo went into halftime with a 37-33 lead.
Presbyterian College stayed close throughout the second half, pulling even at 37-37 with a jumper by Amy Jones. Buffalo then scored 15 of the next 17 points as a pair of foul shots by senior forward Heather Turner put the Bulls up 52-39 with 15:45 remaining.
However, the Blue Hose came back with a 26-8 run of their own to go up 65-60. With the Bulls down 67-62 with about five minutes remaining in the game, senior guard Stephanie Bennett hit two three-pointers within 30 seconds. The Bulls were able to expand their lead and went on to a 76-68 victory.
Senior forward Heather Turner led the Bulls with 14 points and nine rebounds. Bennett scored 14 points and pitched in five assists. Jones had 13 points off the bench and senior forward Barbora Homolova contributed 12 points and seven boards.
Kaitlin Moore and Jones led the Blue Hose in scoring with 17 and 15 points, respectively. Sharie Hopkins had a double-double, scoring 13 points to go along with 10 boards.
The Bulls looked to keep their winning streak going when they played at South Carolina on Saturday afternoon.
With less than six minutes gone by, Bennett hit a three that gave Buffalo their first lead of the game at 5-3. With the Bulls leading by one about two minutes later, the Gamecocks went on a 10-1 run and never looked back. The game went into halftime with South Carolina up 36-28.
The Gamecocks increased their lead until junior forward Jamie Schiebner scored six straight points to cut the margin to six. However, this was the closest the Bulls were able to get after the break and the Gamecocks ended up winning 66-54.
Despite the loss, Bulls head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald was pleased with the way her team played overall.
"I thought we had some bad turnovers at some crucial times," Hill-MacDonald said in a press release. "We let the ball get inside a little too much in the second half, but I am proud of the effort our team put forth today. I am not happy with the result, but I thought it was a good effort."
Sophomore guard Ashley Zuber had nine points and a career high nine assists. Her points total equaled her career high in points as well, as she scored nine at Presbyterian College just two days earlier.
Schiebner had a team-high 14 points to go with nine boards. Bennett added 11 points and five boards of her own. For South Carolina, Courtney Newton had 17 points, while Demetress Adams contributed 14 points and seven rebounds.
Gamecocks head coach Susan Walvius, who was not happy with her own team's defense, gave credit to the Bulls' defense, which forced South Carolina to shoot from outside the paint.
"Two years ago, we would have lost this game, to be quite honest," Walvius said in a press release. "We are able to shoot on the outside. Courtney (Newton) was able to shoot the ball, and we were able to put up some high-low looks from post to post. I wasn't happy with the defense; we were a step slow today. We would have not put up 66 points two years ago against this Buffalo defense."
The Bulls return home for their next game, which is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. Buffalo will be hosting Detroit at Alumni Arena.
