Advancing to the Super Sixteen in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament, the University of Southern Indiana women’s basketball team hosted the University of Buffalo. The Bulls came into this game off an overtime win against the University of Massachusetts and an overall record of 27-7. Southern Indiana entered the matchup off a close victory against Campbell University with an overall record of 23-13.
Starting strong, the University of Buffalo’s Chellia Watson, graduate guard, hit a three on their first possession off a steal. The Bulls went on a six-point run before USI’s Coach Rick Stein called their first timeout early on.
After the timeout, Southern Indiana’s Chloe Gannon, sophomore forward/center, created some action with back-to-back buckets, bringing USI up by three with just under six minutes remaining. USI stayed within reach for the rest of the quarter but was never able to take the lead. Southern Indiana’s Ali Saunders, junior guard, made two free throws after being fouled in the final seconds, cutting the score 20-17 heading into the second quarter.
However, the one-possession game quickly slipped away as the Bulls went on a twelve-point run, advancing their lead to 32-17. Half of these points came from a couple of threes from Terah Harness, senior guard.
After a scoreless four minutes, Gannon once again contributed with two free throws. Vanessa Shafford, senior guard, grabbed onto the momentum with back-to-back jump shots, cutting the deficit to 34-23. Ultimately, the Bulls ended the first half with a sixteen-point advantage, 41-25.
In the second half, USI was able to cut the Bulls’ lead in half after an 11-4 run. Soon after, Southern Indiana went on a bit of a dry spell offensively, and Buffalo was able to gain some ground and advance their lead back up to sixteen by the end of the third quarter.
The final quarter was a back-and-forth battle. Southern Indiana outscored the University at Buffalo, 22-20, but, unfortunately, they were unable to make the comeback. Triniti Ralston, sophomore guard, not only led the Eagles with eight points in the fourth quarter but also led the team in points for the game with 15. Chloe Gannon contributed remarkably off the bench with 15 points, six rebounds and a block in 25 minutes of game time.
What plagued USI’s performance as a whole was turnovers, in which the team had 22 for the game and Buffalo had 21 points off turnovers. If USI had taken better care of the ball and not forced too many passes inside, they likely would’ve been within reach in the crunch-time minutes.
This game marks the end of the season for USI’s women’s basketball team. The season ends with a strong run in the WNIT to the Super 16, and a banner will be raised. However, the University at Buffalo lives to see another day, advancing to the Great 8. The Bulls will take on Rutgers University on Sunday.