Central Michigan University Athletics
Buffalo Earns 90-80 Victory over Women's Basketball
2/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT – Central Michigan University seniors Ann Skufca and Sharonda Hurd combined for 38 points but it was not enough as Buffalo earned a 90-80 road victory at CMU on Saturday afternoon
CMU (10-14, 2-9 Mid-American Conference) could not overcome Buffalo’s hot shooting. The Bulls (8-15, 3-8 MAC) shot 59 percent from the field on their way to a season-high 90 points. UB had five players in double digits scoring and outrebounded the Chippewas by 12 caroms, 40-28.
Skufca finished with a team-high 22 tallies. She was 7-for-10 from the field and 6-for-7 at the free throw line in her fourth 20-point game of the season. She also had a team-high five rebounds and two blocks. Hurd had 16 points, going 7-of-11 from the floor and also added a team-high two steals.
Joining the seniors in double figures was freshman Britni Houghton. Houghton had 11 points and tied for a team-high with four assists. Latisha Luckett also had four assists to go along with nine points.
Michigan native Rachelle Matthys poured in a career-high 22 points to lead the way for UB. Stephanie Bennett added 20 while Heather Turner had 15, Kourtney Brown tallied 13 and Jamie Schiebner recorded 12 points. Turner and Schiebner also notched double-doubles with Turner pulling down 11 rebounds and Schiebner grabbing 10. Belinda Gibb had a game-high seven assists to lead UB.
UB would also finish with a better mark from three-point land, going 6-for-10 to CMU’s 7-for-17, and were also more accurate at the line, going 16-for-20 compared to 17-for-23 by the Chippewas. Buffalo also had more assists, 21-14, while the Maroon and Gold finished with more steals, 8-6, blocks, 5-2, and fewer turnovers, 10-15.
The game began with Skufca hitting a pair of free throws because Buffalo was accessed a technical foul for delay of game. That didn’t slow the Bulls down once the game started as UB opened with a 8-0 run. Turner sparked the run with a pair of lay ups while assisting on the other baskets.
CMU cut the lead to four with a lay up by Hurd and both teams traded buckets over the next few minutes. UB would then go on 6-0 run to build an 11 point advantage, 21-10, midway through the half.
CMU answered Buffalo’s run with one of its own. The Maroon and Gold would score 14 of the next 17 points to tie the game at 24 with six minutes to go in the half. Things wouldn’t stayed tied for along as UB answered CMU run with a 13-3 stretch to take the lead back out to double figures with three minutes left. The two teams trade baskets in the closing minutes of the half and Buffalo took a 10-point advantage into intermission, 41-31.
CMU quickly cut the Bulls lead down to one after the half with a 9-0 run to start the second. Skufca ignited things with the first seven points of the run. Buffalo was able to build its lead back to four, 53-49, but the Maroon and Gold tied it up with four straight points.
The game would follow a familiar pattern in the closing minutes as Buffalo to gain a small lead and CMU would rally to tie the game. This happened three times down the stretch but the Chippewas could never take a lead. The Bulls put the game away with a 12-1 run with five minutes to play that made the score 780-66. CMU would get as close as eight in the final minutes but UB held off the charge to earn the road victory.
The Chippewas head back out on the road for their next game. CMU plays at Western Michigan on Wednesday, Feb. 14, beginning at 7 p.m.
