BUFFALO, N.Y.— Liv LeBaron tallied 16 of her game-high 26 points in the second half as Buffalo State finished the contest on an 11-8 run to escape with a 70-67 victory over visiting Cortland in SUNYAC play this afternoon.

THE BASICS

FINAL SCORE: Buffalo State – 70, Cortland – 67    

LOCATION: Sports Arena – Buffalo, N.Y.

RECORDS: Buffalo State (7-2, 2-1 SUNYAC), Cortland (3-5, 1-3 SUNYAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• LeBaron paced the Bengals' offense while adding six rebounds and three assists.
• Katie Villarini (Hamburg/Hamburg) finished with 22 points, four assists and three steals.
• Princella McCullough (Rochester/Bishop Kearney) added seven points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
• Buffalo State and Cortland traded points for much of the first quarter until a pair of Red Dragon free throws gave the visitors a 17-16 lead after 10 minutes of action.
• The Bengals responded with 13-9 run to start the second frame, highlighted by a 3-pointer from Grace Licata (Williamsville/Williamsville South) that gave Buffalo State a 29-26 lead.
• Buffalo State continued the momentum as it used a layup from LeBaron to take a 38-33 halftime lead.
• After the Bengals extended their lead to 45-35 on a layup from Licata with 6:33 left in the third frame, the Red Dragons ended the third period on a 11-1 run to even the score at 46-46 at the final intermission.
• Both teams matched each other point-for-point for much of the fourth quarter until a 3-pointer by LeBaron with 2:31 left gave Buffalo State a 66-64 lead.
• After Buffalo State extended its lead to 68-64 on the next possession, Cortland connected on a 3-point shot to trim the lead to 68-67.
• A pair of Bengal free throws by LeBaron and Jenna Faulkner (Lockport/Starpoint) pushed the lead back to 70-67 with four seconds left. LeBaron came up with the steal off the inbounds play to seal the victory.
• Buffalo State held a 14-5 edge in fast break points, while the Red Dragons finished with a 28-3 advantage in bench production.

FOR THE FOES

• Shannon McQuire led the Red Dragons with 23 points and added three rebounds.
• Meghan Flanagan added 15 points and five rebounds, while Kristy Vitucci tallied 14 points on four of 10 shooting from the 3-point line.

NOTEWORTHY

• With the win, Buffalo State improves on its best start to the season since the 2013-14 season.

UP NEXT                 

Buffalo State will take an extended break for the holidays before returning to the court for a non-conference contest against D'Youville on Jan. 2.