Ladies will host first Final Four since '92 after win over Fredonia

Freshman guard Olivia Luciani hit a clutch three-pointer with under two minutes remaining to secure the top-seeded Bengals their first playoff win since 2003 over eight-seeded Fredonia (10-15, 6-12 SUNYAC), 64-56 in the SUNYAC quarterfinal.

Only two scorers hit double-digits in Tuesday's matchup at the Sports Arena.

With junior guard Staci McElroy in foul trouble and Barb Kiliszek struggling along with the rest of the starters, Luciani came up big for the Bengals, scoring 10 points off the bench. Bianca Smiley posted a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds as the only starter in double figures.

"I think that was the difference between us and them (Fredonia) and was the biggest advantage we had, especially with the starters struggling, including myself," Kiliszek said. "All year I wanted to play the bench to get them some experience, and it really came up big for us today.

"Had you told me only one of our starters would be in double-digits I would have said there was no chance we win that game," said head coach Sue Roarke, "yet we did and I think that just goes to our team doing whatever it takes no matter what."

Down early to Fredonia, 9-3, the Bengals used a 16-2 run to take back the lead that they would not relinquish as they went into halftime leading 36-24.

After the Bengals gained a 16-point lead, Fredonia crept back as they cut the lead down to four, trailing 57-53 with 1:45 remaining. But Luciani came up big, notching her three-pointer on the following possession.

"I was open with the attention all on McElroy, Bianca, and Barb, so I just took the shot hoping if it didn't go in somebody would get the rebound and luckily it went in," Luciani said.

The Bengals overcame 21 turnovers, including four each from Barb Kiliszek and McElroy, and poor shooting from the free-throw line where they went 9-for-23 and shooting just 39 percent from the field.

"Nerves and being in an unfamiliar spot attributed to the early mistakes" Kiliszek said.

But Smiley and McElroy had 10 rebounds each to help the Bengals out-rebound Fredonia, 52-30.

"Once again, I go back to the bread and butter with this team, rebounding, and it helped us as we struggled shooting from the field tonight," Roarke said.

The Bengals got strong bench play beyond Luciani as Ashley Wallace finished with eight points and seven rebounds and Hillary Koller had five points.

The SUNYAC's leading scorer, Becky Hebert, led Fredonia with 23 points on 10-21 shooting while Jamie Warren finished with 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

As the top seed, Buffalo State will host the SUNYAC "Final Four" this Friday and Saturday. The Bengals will face No. 5 Cortland and No. 2 New Paltz will take on No.3 Oneonta with the winners facing off Saturday for the championship at 4 pm.

The Bengals swept the season series vs. Cortland, defeating them, 80-68, on Dec. 9 and 73-67 to close out the season but know that some changes must be made.

"Turnovers must be limited with a better competition of play coming in, and personally I have to shoot better as the point guard of the team" Kiliszek said.

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