Ladies defeat Oswego, follow with bitter loss to rival Cortland
By Aubrey Gibert
On February 5, 2013
The Buffalo State women's basketball (11-9/7-6) split two home games this weekend, beating
Oswego, 65-56 Friday, and losing to Cortland, 70-60 Saturday.
With the win Friday, the women swept their season series with Oswego, but the loss against the
Red Dragons was tough on the team.
"It hurt because we see Cortland as a rival in our division and it was a way for us to boost
ourselves in the standings" said guard Kelly Kell. "It was definitely upsetting, but we just have to
go back to work in practice and keep battling like we have all season."
Friday, the women used a second-half surge to secure the win after trailing at the half, 30-22.
After the Lakers scored the first bucket of the second half, Buffalo State went on 15-0 run and
never looked back.
Shay Jackson and Ashley Wallace led the Bengals with 14 points each, while Olivia Luciani
netted 13 points. Mariah Norris also scored 11 points, while Bianca Smiley chipped in nine.
The Bengals won the rebound battle, 39-28, in the game, while holding the Lakers (14-6/8-5) to
just 26 points in the second half.
"I thought we played a good game offensively, but I thought we really came out in the second
half and imposed our will," head coach Sue Roarke said. "You could just tell we wanted it more
after getting off to a fast start."
Saturday's game saw 15 lead changes, but Cortland pulled away with five minutes remaining
after the game was tied at 52. The Red Dragons connected on 10 free throws in the final 1:09 to
ice the game.
Turnovers proved to be crucial. Buffalo State had 29 turnovers, which led to 29 Cortland points,
while the Red Dragons committed only 11.
"We were very sloppy with the ball against their zone and it obviously hurt us," Roarke said.
Kell agreed.
"We were just outworked and part of that falls on myself being the point guard," she said.
The Red Dragons shot 49 percent from the field and 14 of 18 from the line. The Bengals hit just
42 percent of their field goals, while shooting 5 of 11 from the stripe.
Wallace again led the team in scoring with 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Smiley had 12
points and nine rebounds, while Luciani netted 11 points.
"As a team we are definitely playing better than we did early in the season, which was expected"
Smiley said. "I'm definitely getting more help down low with Ashley (Wallace) and Shay
(Jackson) really cleaning up on the glass. We just have to work on not turning the ball over and
getting back on defense."
"We haven't put ourselves in the best position but we have these last four or five games to get a
winning streak going and hopefully carry that into the conference tournament," Roarke said.
Kell agreed, as she noted she'd like another chance at the Red Dragons.
"We hope to play Cortland again in the playoffs because we felt that was a game we let slip
away and we'll be better next time around," she said.
The Bengals will end the season with four of their final five games on the road. They next play at
6 p.m. at New Paltz Friday and 2 p.m. at Oneonta Saturday.
"As a team this is now or never" said Smiley. "This is the time where we have to come together
as a team and really trust each other because on the road, all we have is ourselves and our
coaches, and there's playoff positioning on the line."
Aubrey Gibert can be reached by email at gibert.record@live.com
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