热点大瓜

The UB women’s basketball team was crowned champions of the WNIT after defeating Troy, 88-84, in front of a record crowd of 5,650 in Alumni Arena on Saturday night. The Bulls rallied in the fourth quarter to win their program-record 30th game of the season.

Five Bulls scored in double figures, led by Chellia Watson who scored a game-high 23 points to go with seven rebounds and six assists. Sophomore Kirsten Lewis-Williams also stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists and senior Terah Harness scored 17 points, including 4-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. Fifth-year guard Noelani Cornfield recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 assists; senior forward Jordyn Beaty added 13 points.

The Bulls won the tip and scored on their first possession, sparking a 6-0 run to open the game. After the visitors cut the lead to two, Lewis-Williams went up and around her defender for the and-one bucket and UB would lead by two at the media timeout. The Trojans used a 10-2 run to go up by four at the 3:13 mark before Sitota Gines scored on a fastbreak layup and Watson drilled a deep three from the top of the key to pull UB to within three at the end of the first quarter.

Troy opened the second quarter on a 15-4 run before Watson drilled another deep triple to pull UB within 11 at the media timeout. The Bulls started to find their offensive rhythm as Lewis-Williams hit Beaty for a pair of layups before Watson found the paint off the dribble and knocked down two midrange jumpers to cut the lead to 10 at the half.

Buffalo used a 10-2 run — opened and capped by triples from Cornfield and Harness — to cut the lead to four early in the third quarter, but the Trojans answered with a run of their own to go up by 10 at the media timeout. Lewis-Williams spun through traffic for an acrobatic bucket — plus the foul — before she came up with a massive block and Harness finished the fastbreak layup to cap an 8-0 run and pull the Bulls within three at the 2:14 mark. The teams traded scores and stops from there as Troy maintained a 64-61 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Harness drilled a triple on UB’s first possession of the fourth quarter to tie the game at 64. Later, Lewis-Willaims sliced to the basket for a layup and Cornfield knocked down a midrange jumper to cut the lead to four at the 6:25 mark. The Bulls then got hot from deep as Harness and Watson connected on a pair of triples to pull UB within two at the 3:47 mark. A triple by Harness put the Bulls ahead, 83-81, with 2:52 left and then Beaty came up with the defensive play of the game. The senior forward stole a pass near midcourt and drove the length of the floor for a layup to extend the UB lead to 85-81 with 1:45 remaining. The Bulls were then able to ice the victory at the free-throw line.

The Bulls scored 50 points in the paint and were efficient on offense, assisting on 25 of 25 made field goals while committing just 10 turnovers and scoring a blistering 24 points in transition. Defensively, they forced 16 turnovers, scoring 13 points off turnovers.

UB finished the season with a 30-7 overall record, setting a new program record for wins in a single-season.