By: by Matt Palisin, Asst. SID
BOXSCORE
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Fredonia State women's basketball team pulled within four points in the closing minutes, but could not pull off the upset, falling to Buffalo State 64-56 in the first round of the SUNYAC Tournament on Tuesday.
All season long, the Devils showed a penchant for strong second halves, and tonight was no different.
The Devils were down 46-30 with 15:48 left in the game before rallying to within four points late. From the largest deficit, the Devils outscored the Bengals 23-11 over the next 14 minutes. A free throw by
Kristina Kuscht made it a 57-53 game with 1:45 left.
The Bengals used a three pointer from Olivia Luciani and a pair of free throws over its next three possessions to gain back the momentum, upping its lead to nine, 62-53.
Fredonia State's
Jaimie Warren responded with a three of her own to make it a two-possession game with 15 seconds to go. The Devils then fouled Barb Kiliszek to slow the clock. She converted both free throws to essentially close out the game.
The Devils were bidding to become the first No. 8 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed since 2003. That year, the Devils downed Geneseo to move into the semi-finals.
The Devils were led by 23 points from
Becky Hebert. Warren added 14 points and a team-high 7 rebounds.
The Devils featured two seniors playing their last games in a Blue Devil uniform --
Liz Wierbinski and
Nicole Calbi. Wierbinski collected 4 points and 4 rebounds. Calbi -- one of the top playmakers in Division III -- finished with 6 assists and 4 points.
Bianca Smiley had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Buffalo State. The Bengals improve to 24-2.
The Devils finish the season with a 10-15 record.
