BUFFALO — Buffalo State led by as many as 14 points in the second half, but could not hold on as visiting Nazareth battled back for a 64-62 victory to claim the Betty Abgott Invitational today at the Buffalo State Sports Arena.
Princella McCullough (Rochester/Bishop Kearney) led Buffalo State with her third double-double in as many games, finishing with 19 points, 16 rebounds, four blocks and five steals. Mariah Rosario (Flushing/RFK) chipped in 13 points to go with nine board, and Taylor Graham (Santa Rosa, CA/Maria Carrillo) added seven points and four assists. The first half featured six lead changes and ended even at 31-31.
Buffalo State opened the second half on a 13-2 run and stretched the lead to as many as 14 at 51-37 later in the third quarter. Nazareth would outscore the Bengals 27-11 over the final 12 minutes and 41 seconds, however to steal the win. The Bengals were still ahead by six to open the fourth quarter and continued to hold the lead until the Golden Flyers’ Lizzie Straub hit a 3-pointer with 1:56 remaining to take their first lead since the opening half at 59-58. McCullough made 1 of 2 free throws at the other end, and Nazareth answered with another 3 to take a two-possession lead with a minute remaining. A McCullough layup cut the margin to two with 30 seconds left, but Nazareth sealed it with two free throws with 14 seconds left. The Bengals completed the scoring with a McCullough layup at the buzzer. Buffalo State converted 23 Nazareth turnovers in 19 points, while the Golden Flyers only scored three points off 14 Bengal miscues. The difference in the game came behind the arc where Nazareth finished 9 of 28, outscoring Buffalo State 27-12 from long range.
Buffalo State will next host Houghton in a non-conference game on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
from BuffaloStateAthletics.com via IFTTT
