Bears’ blizzard buries Buffalo

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ORONO – The folks in Buffalo, N.Y., have spent the last few days digging out from under three feet of snow dropped during a recent storm.

The University of Buffalo women’s basketball team was caught in a Maine basketball blizzard Thursday night at Alfond Arena, but couldn’t dig out in time.

The Black Bears built a 20-point halftime cushion with a 25-5 run, then traded second-half spurts with the Royals while earning a 77-66 victory with 2,219 fans looking on.

Coach Joanne Palombo-McCallie’s Maine team takes a 7-3 record into a 13-day break, while Buffalo returns to the snow belt at 2-2.

“What I liked about the game so much is our execution in attacking the pressure,” Palombo said. “I felt it was very important for us to handle that pressure and use it to our advantage.”

The Bears snapped a 16-16 deadlock midway through the first half on the strength of the 25-5 run. Maine forced a few turnovers with its 2-2-1 full-court pressure, but was even more successful in its matchup zone.

Buffalo had difficulty getting open shots in the lane, where Stacey Porrini, Catherine Gallant, and Andrea Clark had things pretty well bottled up. The Royals settled for long-range shots, but made only three of 15 3-pointers.

“I was really proud of the way we bounced back and cut the lead back down to 11,” said Buffalo coach Sal Buscaglia. “We know they play that 3-2 matchup; we were just satisfied with taking the outside shot.”

Maine’s well-balanced rebounding limited Buffalo’s second-chance opportunities and got the Bears’ transition game rolling. Clark opened a 7-0 spurt with a 12-foot jump hook from the baseline at the 9:57 mark and followed Sandi Carver’s rebound basket with a free throw.

Blodgett threw in a baseline runner to give Maine a 23-16 lead with 7:53 to play. Kim Coon ended a three-minute Buffalo dry spell with a 3-pointer, but the Bears rattled off 11 unanswered points to give themselves a 15-point cushion.

Maine took care of the ball superbly, committing only three turnovers.

“Especially with the press tonight, it was important that we attacked them but didn’t turn it over,” Blodgett said.

Gallant made two foul shots to get the run moving, then Trisha Ripton buried a 3-pointer and fed Porrini for a layup after a steal by Clark. Porrini converted a Buffalo turnover with a fast-break layup, then scored on a rebound 45 seconds later to make it 34-19 with 4:24 to play.

“They played real confident and they executed and got more rebounds,” Buscaglia said. “I don’t think they’re just a Blodgett team. She’s a great player, but they’ve got a good corps of players.”

Anne Gallagher ended almost four scoreless minutes for the Royals with a 15-footer, but Maine scored the last seven points of the half to make it 41-21.

“We just played aggressive defense, and when we play together, those are the results we get,” said Maine’s Stacey Porrini.

Cindy Blodgett poured in a game-high 26 points and added six rebounds and four steals to power the Bears, while Porrini scored 15 and pulled down 10 rebounds. Ripton connected for 15 points, including three 3-pointers, and had six assists.

Brenna Doty tossed in 24 points on the strength of six 3-pointers to lead the pesky Royals. Alicia Kollmorgen provided 11 points and seven rebounds, all in the second half.

Trailing by 22, the Royals battled back in the second half. Buffalo put together a 9-0 run that included a Doty 3-pointer, cutting Maine’s advantage to 13 points with 16:22 remaining.

“I think we relaxed a little bit defensively and a credit to Buffalo, I think it works both ways,” Palombo said. “They spotted up and got some very good shots. I think we learned a little bit of a lesson there to keep that focus.”

The Bears got back on track as a Blodgett 3-pointer and fivRipton fueled a 10-2 flurry and a 53-32 lead with 14:05 left. Buffalo sliced Maine’s lead to 69-58 with 4:15 left, but the Bears scored six straight to preserve the lead.

Black Bears 77, Royals 66

Buffalo Maine

Name G AG F AF TP Name G AG F AF TP

Coon 3 9 0 1 7 DeShong 0 0 0 0 0

Vogel 0 2 0 0 0 Bowman 0 0 0 0 0

Gardner 3 8 0 0 6 Stubbs 0 0 0 0 0

Doty 9 21 0 0 24 Blodgett 11 23 3 4 26

Jacob 2 6 1 2 6 Gallant 3 6 5 5 11

McCray 0 1 0 0 0 Carver 1 2 0 0 2

Blakeslee 1 6 2 2 4 Rustad 0 4 2 2 2

Prinzing 2 5 0 0 4 Porrini 6 14 4 6 16

Kollmorgen 5 8 1 3 11 Ripton 5 6 2 2 15

Gallagher 2 6 0 0 4 Clark 1 4 1 2 3

Danes 1 1 0 0 2

Totals 27 72 4 7 66 Totals 28 60 17 23 77

Buffalo 21 66

UMaine 41 77

3-pt. goals: Buffalo (8-22): Coon 1-4, Vogel 0-1, Doty 6-14, Jacob 1-3; Maine (4-9): DeShong 0-1, Stubbs 0-1, Blodgett 1-6, Ripton 3-3