FREDONIA, N.Y. -- In what was essentially a post-season play-in game, the Fredonia women's basketball team fell to Buffalo State, 74-60, on Saturday, ending their season. Both teams sported identical 7-10 conference records and entered the afternoon's contest in a tie for sixth place. With the win, the Bengals will move on the to the SUNYAC Tournament as the No. 6 seed.
One bright spot for the Devils was junior
Jenna Einink (Westfield, N.Y. / Chautauqua Lake) who scored 20 points and became the second Blue Devil this season, and 12th overall, to join the 1,000-Point Club. Einink also had a game-high 14 rebounds.
Jacque Law (Lime Lake, N.Y. / Pioneer) added 14 points and
Anna Chiacchia (Hamburg, N.Y. / Hamburg) had 13 points.
Buff Stat took the early initiative with a pair of threes to open the scoring. Their biggest lead of the first quarter, nine points, came six minutes into the frame on another pair of back-to-back threes to go up 16-7.
Law broke the momentum for the Devils with a traditional three-point play.
The Devils closed the half strong, and a lob pass from Law to Chiacchia with 28 seconds left was the final basket of the first quarter, tieing the game at 17-all.
A nifty pass from
Justice Nauden (Waterport, N.Y. / Albion) to Einink gave Fredonia its first lead, 19-17, which completed a 12-1 run, early in the second quarter.
After trading hoops, the Bengals scored the next 10 points to go up eight, 29-21. The Devils bounced back with a 10-2 run to tie the game at 31 all.
Sydney Turley (Cheetkowaga, N.Y. / Cleveland Hill) finished the first-half with a second-effort basket to send the Devils into the locker room leading 35-33. Chiacchia led the Devils with 11 points, and Grace Licata had 12 for the Bengals.
After trading leads early in the third, a fast break from Law to Einink at the 6:09 mark gave the Devils a 39-38 lead. It would be the last time the Devils would lead.
A three pointer by Law in the closing seconds made it a 51-45 game at the end of three quarters.
Buff State expanded its lead to 11 with a jumper and three pointer to open the fourth. After a pair of free throws by Turley, Buff State scored the next four to give them their biggest lead to that point at 13 points, 60-47, with 6:54 remaining.
A three pointer by Buff State's Liv Lebarron at the 5:16 mark all but put the game away. The Bengals went up 69-51 and forced Fredonia to call a timeout. The Bengals kept the momentum with the next seven points on another three and a pair of layups for a 20-point lead with just under four minutes to go.
It was the final game for Fredonia's three seniors. Law,
Emily Lasher (Wilson, N.Y. / Wilson), and
Alisha Szumigala (Forestville, N.Y. / Forestville).
Law ends her career ranked No. 9 on the all-time scoring list at 1,080. She also hold team marks for free throws made and free throws attempted. Lasher, a four-year player, cracked the starting lineup this season, and finished with two points and four rebounds in 20 minutes of action. Szumigala had seven points and eight rebounds, and currently leads the SUNYAC in field-goal percentage.
Buff State (8-10 SUNYAC / 12-14 overall) got the bulk of its points from three players -- Licata had 21 points, Caleh McLean had 18, and Lebaron had 16 points and 12 rebounds. The Bengals were aided by nailing 10 three pointers, seven of them coming from Licata.
Fredonia finishes its season at 7-11 in the conference and 9-16 overall.
