BUFFALO, NY —  Katie Villarini (Hamburg, NY/Hamburg) hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with three minutes remaining in overtime, and the Bengals' defense clamped down as Buffalo State women's basketball team pulled away with a 75-65 overtime victory over SUNYAC rival Brockport on Friday night at the Sports Arena.
 
GAME BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Buffalo State – 75, Brockport – 65
LOCATION:  Buffalo State Sports Arena – Buffalo, NY
RECORDS:  Buffalo State (5-3, 2-1 SUNYAC), Brockport (7-3, 2-2 SUNYAC)
 
INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE

• Villarini finished with 18 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds, one of three Bengals with 10 points or more.  
• Brianna Smith (Oakfield, NY/Oakfield) added 15 points, while Taylor James (Buffalo, NY/Frederick Law Olmstead) was clutch in overtime for Buffalo State, scoring six of her 11 points in the extra period.
• Shawni Cornfield (Goawanda, NY/Putham) grabbed a team-high ten rebounds.
• The Buffalo State bench outscored Brockport 29-17.
• The Bengals held the Golden Eagles to a 31.8 percentage from the field and forced 16 turnovers.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Brockport opened the game on a 10-0, and a layup by Zoey Zutes pushed the Golden Eagles' lead to 18-5 with just over three minutes remaining in the quarter.
• Buffalo State ended the quarter on an 8-2 run as Brockport led 20-13 after one.
• The Bengals opened the second quarter on a 10-2 run, and a 3-pointer by Smith gave Buffalo State its first lead of the game at 23-22.
• With just over two minutes left in the half, Erin Radack made two consecutive jumpers to give the Golden Eagles a 28-26 lead.
• Riley Domin (Getzville, NY/Williamsville South) responded with back-to-back 3-pointers, and a Villarini jumper with under two seconds gave the Bengals the 34-30 halftime lead.
• Two Brockport baskets to begin the second half tied the score at 34-34, before Josie Fleming (Clarence, NY/Clarence) hit consecutive 3-pointers to give the Bengals their largest lead of the game.
• The Bengals held a 46-42 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
• The teams traded baskets to begin the fourth quarter, and a Smith layup gave Buffalo State a 50-46 lead.
• Radack's and-one cut the Bengals' lead to one before a Villarini jumper restored a three-point advantage.
• Serena Sordetto scored two straight baskets to give the Golden Eagles the one-point edge, but James made a one-handed floater off an inbounds play to help Buffalo State regain the lead.
• After Sordetto hit two free throws, Villarini drove to the basket and converted the and-one with 1:09 remaining for a two-point Bengals' lead.
• Erin Nolan drained both free throws after being fouled with one second remaining to force overtime.
• After each team scored a basket, Villarini drained a 3-pointer to give the Bengals the lead for good with three and a half minutes left in overtime.
• James hit a jump shot, Cornfield stole the ensuing inbounds pass and made another basket, James made another layup, and the Bengals hit seven out of eight free throws down the stretch to ice the game.  
• Buffalo State outscored Brockport 18-8 in the overtime period to earn the commanding 10-point victory.

 
FOR THE FOES

• Radack led Brockport with 18 points and seven rebounds.
• Sordetto chipped in 12-point, 11 rebound double-double.
• The Bengals held Brockport to 3-22 from beyond the arc.

UP NEXT
The Bengals host a non-conference matchup with St. John Fisher tomorrow evening at 5:30 p.m.