Kiliszek scores 1,000th as ladies win two

Senior captain Barb Kiliszek made history over the weekend, becoming only the 12th player in Buffalo State history to record 1,000 career points as the Bengals swept their season series against Plattsburgh and Potsdam.

The Bengals defeated the Cardinals (7-12, 4-9 SUNYAC), 65-58, on Friday and the Bears (4-17, 2-11 SUNYAC), 58-40, on Saturday, to improve to 18-2 on the season and 11-2 in conference play.

Kiliszek finished with 26 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists, and three steals in the two wins and garnered SUNYAC Women's Basketball Player of the Week honors for her efforts.

"Barb's all business and someone who hates to lose_," said coach Sue Roarke. "It's her attitude and willingness that I think really carries this team."

Kiliszek shrugged off her coach's praises.

"I just want to win," she said.

Along with Kiliszek's career night, all five starters scored in double-digits against Plattsburgh. Bianca Smiley finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, Staci McElroy with 12 points, Kala Crawford with a game-high 13 points and Divine Sebuharara chipped in with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

"The emergence of Kala Crawford has really helped us and has given us more balance" Roarke said.

Roarke also said she was very impressed by the balance her team displayed and went on to say the team would be "even tougher if they can stay balanced night in and night out."

After holding a slim 27-26 lead at halftime, the Bengals went on a 7-0 run to start the second half while their defense held Plattsburgh to just 33-percent shooting from the field.

"We talked about adjusting our defense and after halftime we wanted to amp it up and really put the pressure on them and I thought we did a good job" said assistant coach Max Payne.

Kathleen Payne led Plattsburgh as she scored a game-high 23 points while Brittany Marshall contributed 17.

Plattsburgh scored eight three-pointers compared to the Bengals' four, but Buffalo State won the battle on the boards as the Bengals out-rebounded Plattsburgh, 42-34.

Fresh off the win on Friday, the Bengals coasted to victory over Potsdam on Saturday, lead by Kiliszek's 15 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists while Smiley also contributed 15 points and six rebounds.

After trailing 14-7 early in the game, the Bengals used a 12-2 run to take the lead into halftime, 26-22. Coming out of the break, the Bengals used another 7-0 run to start the second half before pulling away.

The Bengals shot 40 percent from the field and used a 44-35 rebounding advantage to overcome the Bears, who shot just 26 percent from the field.

Katy Briedis led Potsdam with nine points but committed five turnovers as the Bears committed a game-high 14 turnovers.

The Bengals will return home this weekend where they will host their final two games at the Sports Arena this season. Buffalo State will look to avenge an early-season loss to Geneseo on Friday at 6 p.m. before taking on Brockport at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Aubrey Gibert can be reached at gibert.record@live.com.