Women's Basketball Team Wins Ninth SUNYAC Title
Buffalo State's women's basketball team won its ninth SUNYAC Championship tonight, and first under second-year Head Coach Fred Batchelor, with a 56-50 win over second-seeded Cortland. The conference title was the Bengals first since 1994.
The Bengals opened the playoffs on Thursday night with a 72-49 victory over Oswego, in a game that Buffalo State only trailed for nine seconds. Monica Polka (Youngstown/Lewiston-Porter) led the Bengals with 19 points and nine rebounds, and Chrissy Milleville (Niagara Falls/Niagara-Wheatfield) poured in 15 points.
The victory over Oswego set up a Friday night semifinal meeting with No. 5 Plattsburgh. Buffalo State only trailed for a short time in the first half, before cruising to a 49-34 win. The Bengals defense stymied the Cardinal shooters all day, holding Plattsburgh to just 26 percent shooting from the field. Buffalo State shot only slightly better, hitting on 20-of-65 (31 percent) from the floor. Abby Kochan (Newport/West Canada) led Buffalo State with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
In today's championship game, it was the Bengals defense that would again be the difference. The Bengals shot just 21 percent in the first half, but trailed by just 24-19 at the intermission, thanks to good team defense and outstanding rebounding. Buffalo State's shooting improved slightly in the final 20 minutes, but the game was won at the defensive end of the floor, as the Bengals continued to hang around before taking their first lead of the game with 6:51 to play. It was not until 52 seconds remaining that Buffalo State went ahead to stay, as they hit six clutch free throws down the stretch to ice the 56-50 win. Tournament MVP Polka led Buffalo State with 16 points and eight rebounds. All-Tournament selections Monique Hanks (Liverpool/Liverpool) and Kochan helped pace the Bengals at both ends of the floor. Hanks scored 14 points and pulled in 13 rebounds, including nine offensive boards. Kochan scored 12 points and had seven rebounds and two blocks.
Buffalo State's SUNYAC Championship earned it an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs. The pairing will be announced Sunday night at 9 p.m. Buffalo State is one win away from breaking the school record for wins in a season, as its 25-3 record is currently tied with that of the 1993-94 team.
All-SUNYAC Honors
Buffalo State was well-represented on the All-SUNYAC Teams, announced Wednesday night. Monica Polka earned First Team honors, while Chrissy Milleville was selected to the Second Team, and Monique Hanks received Honorable Mention status.
- BENGALS -
The Bengals opened the playoffs on Thursday night with a 72-49 victory over Oswego, in a game that Buffalo State only trailed for nine seconds. Monica Polka (Youngstown/Lewiston-Porter) led the Bengals with 19 points and nine rebounds, and Chrissy Milleville (Niagara Falls/Niagara-Wheatfield) poured in 15 points.
The victory over Oswego set up a Friday night semifinal meeting with No. 5 Plattsburgh. Buffalo State only trailed for a short time in the first half, before cruising to a 49-34 win. The Bengals defense stymied the Cardinal shooters all day, holding Plattsburgh to just 26 percent shooting from the field. Buffalo State shot only slightly better, hitting on 20-of-65 (31 percent) from the floor. Abby Kochan (Newport/West Canada) led Buffalo State with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
In today's championship game, it was the Bengals defense that would again be the difference. The Bengals shot just 21 percent in the first half, but trailed by just 24-19 at the intermission, thanks to good team defense and outstanding rebounding. Buffalo State's shooting improved slightly in the final 20 minutes, but the game was won at the defensive end of the floor, as the Bengals continued to hang around before taking their first lead of the game with 6:51 to play. It was not until 52 seconds remaining that Buffalo State went ahead to stay, as they hit six clutch free throws down the stretch to ice the 56-50 win. Tournament MVP Polka led Buffalo State with 16 points and eight rebounds. All-Tournament selections Monique Hanks (Liverpool/Liverpool) and Kochan helped pace the Bengals at both ends of the floor. Hanks scored 14 points and pulled in 13 rebounds, including nine offensive boards. Kochan scored 12 points and had seven rebounds and two blocks.
Buffalo State's SUNYAC Championship earned it an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs. The pairing will be announced Sunday night at 9 p.m. Buffalo State is one win away from breaking the school record for wins in a season, as its 25-3 record is currently tied with that of the 1993-94 team.
All-SUNYAC Honors
Buffalo State was well-represented on the All-SUNYAC Teams, announced Wednesday night. Monica Polka earned First Team honors, while Chrissy Milleville was selected to the Second Team, and Monique Hanks received Honorable Mention status.
- BENGALS -
Media Contact:
Jeffrey Ventura, Sports Information Director | 7168786030 | venturjm@buffalostate.edu