Women’s basketball defeats Buffalo in first-ever Division I postseason game

((Contributed by Wright State Sports Information))

Junior forward Molly Fox led the Raiders with a double-double of 20 points and 16 rebounds off the bench, with the 16 boards tying her career high set at Longwood on December 11.

In a season filled with milestones, the Wright State women’s basketball team added to the list Wednesday night as the Raiders, in their first-ever Division I postseason game, built a 16-point second-half lead before holding on for a 82-79 win over Buffalo in the opening round of the Women’s Basketball Invitational at WSU’s Nutter Center.

Buffalo led by five twice in the early going before WSU tied it at 20 on a Ta-myra Davis basket with 11:10 to go in the first half. After Kourtney Brown put the Bulls back in front, another Davis jumper keyed an 8-0 run, half coming from the senior forward and half coming from Molly Fox.

A Jessica Fortman drew Buffalo to within one at 32-31 with 3:49 remaining in the period before Wright State used an 11-2 burst, one that featured two Maria Bennett three-pointers and one by Courtney Boyd, to help build a 43-36 halftime advantage.

The Bulls shot 46 percent in the first half compared to 40 percent for the Raiders, but WSU attempted 10 more shots thanks to a 24-20 rebounding edge, 12-6 on the offensive end, that resulted in a 17-8 differential in second-chance points.

A Brittany Hedderson three again drew Buffalo to within one at 48-47 with 15:47 to play, only to see Wright State outscore the Bulls 21-6 over the next eight minutes, nine coming from Fox and six by LaShawna Thomas, to build its biggest lead of the game at 69-53.

The margin was 79-64 at the 4:36 mark until Buffalo scored nine straight points, five by Ashley Zuber, to make a six-point game with a minute to go.

Fortman banked in a three from the right wing at the 14.8-second mark to make it 80-76, but Thomas followed with two foul shots to again make it a six-point game and it stayed that way until Nicki Hopkins hit a three from the left wing at the buzzer for the final margin.

The final shooting percentages were nearly identical (.395 for Buffalo, .392 for WSU) and the Bulls hit 11 threes compared to five for the Raiders, but Wright State was 18 of 20 at the foul line, 14 of 16 in the second half, while Buffalo was eight of 10. WSU also held a 50-42 rebounding advantage and led 28-17 in second-chance points.

The win improved Wright State’s record to 20-12, giving the Raiders the most wins they have had in a season since moving up to Division I for the 1987-88 season. The 20 wins are only second to the 24-6 mark WSU recorded during the 1986-87 campaign.

Fox led the Raiders with a double-double of 20 points and 16 rebounds off the bench, with the 16 boards tying her career high set at Longwood on December 11. Thomas had 18 points, Davis 14 and Bennett 12 on four three-pointers while Shaunda Sandifer collected 14 rebounds to go with her six points.

With her four three-pointers, Bennett set a Raider single-season record for threes with 88, eclipsing the 84 made by Chanda Hollingsworth in 2000-01. Thomas also set the senior scoring record with 596 points, bettering the 588 scored by Jodi Martin in 24 games in 1982-83.

Brown paced Buffalo (16-16) with 21 points while Zuber added 18 points and eight assists and Fortman chipped in 15 points and seven rebounds.

Wright State will now face the winner of Thursday’s game between Manhattan and Sacred Heart in the quarterfinals Sunday at 2:00 at Wright State’s Nutter Center.