Post Classifieds
Ladies come up short of postseason with loss in do-or-die finale
By Aubrey Gibert
On February 20, 2013
After defeating Brockport at home Friday to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Buffalo State
women's basketball team's season came to an end Saturday with a 56-44 loss at Geneseo.
Just one year after finishing 16-2 in conference play and 25-3 overall, the Bengals were
eliminated from contention in the SUNYAC tournament after finishing 13-11 overall, part of an
8-10 conference record.
A win over Geneseo or a Cortland loss to Potsdam over the weekend would have secured the
Bengals a spot in the tournament. However, Cortland did what Buffalo State could not, officially
eliminating the Bengals.
"It was definitely disappointing because I thought we competed and played hard both days,"
coach Sue Roarke said. "I think it served as a lesson that if we play hard every night we can
compete, but we just came up a little short."
On Friday, the Bengals used stifling defense to get the 54-44 win over Brockport. Ashley
Wallace led the team with 13 points and four rebounds, while Bianca Smiley scored eight points
and grabbed 11 rebounds. Mariah Norris also contributed, scoring seven points, grabbing six
rebounds and dishing out three assists.
After trailing for most of the half, the Bengals went on a 9-0 run going into halftime to take the
lead at 27-20, and they never looked back.
The Bengals held the Eagles to just 29 percent shooting and their swarming defense caused 23
turnovers on the night. Brockport did outshoot the Bengals from 3-point range, however, going 6
of 13 compared to the Bengals' 1 of 13.
"I thought we came out with a lot of energy knowing it was our pink game," point guard Kelly
Kell said. "It was a definite revenge game from our embarrassing loss we had earlier in the
season versus Brockport, so it was a big bounce back game from where we were earlier in the
season."
On Saturday, in a game where neither team could muster up much offense, Geneseo was able to
score a little more, ousting the Bengals, 56-44.
Neither team came out the gates rolling as it was an offensive struggle that saw Geneseo take a
17-16 lead into the half.
The Bengals took the lead for the first and only time of the game when they scored the first two
points in the second half. Geneseo took over from there, going on a 9-0 run and increasing its
advantage to as many as 13 in the second half.
Wallace was the lone Bengal to score double digits on the night, putting in 14 points. Olivia
Luciani netted six, and Smiley had a rare off game, scoring just four points while grabbing three
rebounds.
"Definitely a rough game for myself," Smiley said. "Obviously to come out of the game with
single-digits in both points and rebounds was not how I intended for my game specifically to go,
especially it being our do-or-die game. It hurts a lot."
"Our intensity and energy was there in the first half, but in the second half our offense didn't
match our defense and it showed," Kell added.
Geneseo out-rebounded the Bengals 49-34, controlling a stat that had favored Buffalo State
throughout the season.
"We knew going into the game they were the one of the better rebounding teams in the
conference, and we kind of came out flat in the second half I thought," Wallace said. "The first
half I thought we matched their intensity, even on the boards, but in the second half we were out-
muscled."
The Bengals finished tied with Cortland for sixth in the SUNYAC, but the Red Dragons held the
tiebreaker, effectively ending the Bengals' season.
The Bengals will only lose two seniors this season in Erica Derby and Alicia Bowman. With just
those departures and the whole starting lineup slated to return, Roarke is optimistic about next
season.
"We're only losing two seniors, so I definitely think this season can be looked at as a lesson
learned and a tool for next season," Roarke said. "We have a couple verbal recruits, so I
definitely think that we will be a team to be reckoned with."
Aubrey Gibert can be reached by email at gibert.record@live.com.
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