TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo suffered an 84-73 loss against Buffalo on Saturday before a season-high 4,613 fans in Savage Arena. With the setback, UT falls to 15-8 overall, 6-5 in the Mid-American Conference.

Junior Kaayla McIntyre paced the 2017 MAC Champions with a career-high 30 points, topping her previous-best effort of 25 at Eastern Michigan on Jan. 6, 2018. McIntyre shot 12-of-17 from the field and 6-of-13 from the free throw line to surpass the 20-point barrier for the fourth time this year.

Junior Mikaela Boyd was the only other Rocket in double figures against the Bulls (17-4, 8-2 MAC), finishing with 13 points and a team-high nine boards in a squad-best 34 minutes.

As a team, UT shot an efficient 44.6 percent (29-of-65) from the field, including 38.5 percent (5-of-13) from three-point land. Unfortunately for the Midnight Blue & Gold, those respectable shooting numbers were overshadowed by a conference-season low 45.5 percent (10-of-22) performance from the charity stripe. And this came on the heels of a season-best 86.4 percent (19-of-22) effort at the line against Western Michigan on Wednesday.

Cierra Dillard led a balanced Buffalo offense with 21 points, followed by Summer Hemphill with 18, Cassie Oursler had 15 and Stephanie Reid contributed 13, respectively. 

Hemphill added a game-high 13 caroms and Oursler had nine to help the MAC East Division leaders secure their first ever victory in Savage Arena in 12 games. The aforementioned duo's efforts on the glass propelled UB to a 46-32 rebounding advantage. Among their 46 overall rebounds were 15 offensive boards, which they translated into 22 second-chance points.  

Dillard, Hemphill and Oursler did a majority of their damage on the interior, as Buffalo posted a 66-38 edge in points in the paint to sweep the regular-season series against the Rockets. Back on Jan. 20, UB secured an 87-69 triumph in Alumni Arena.  

The Bulls set the tone early with strong play around the basket and held a 20-16 lead at the end of the first period. The visitors scored 16 of their 20 points in the lane, sparked by eight from Oursler.
    
Toledo started to find its offensive rhythm in the second period, benefiting from back-to-back triples by Bravo-Harriott to assume a 31-30 advantage at the 4:05 mark.

Unfortunately for the Rockets, they were unable to maintain the momentum as their three leading scorers – McIntyre, Boyd and Bravo-Harriott – each picked up their second fouls and were forced to the bench.

The Bulls took full advantage of the opportunity and strung together a pivotal 15-4 run to claim a 45-35 lead at the intermission. Hemphill triggered the late rally with eight points to give UB a lead it would not relinquish.  

UT's deficit remained in double figures until McIntyre rattled off five-straight points to set the margin at 70-61 with 9:25 left in regulation. The Toledo native converted a pair of baskets from close range and completed a traditional three-point play to bring the home crowd to its feet.
 
Toledo continued to fight back and pulled with four points, 77-73, on the strength of consecutive jumpers from Boyd and McIntyre at the 1:07 mark, but could get no closer as the Bulls scored the last 6-0 points to make the final score 84-73.      

UT returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 7 when it travels to MAC East Division foe Miami (14-8, 6-5 MAC). Game time versus the RedHawks is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Millett Hall and will be streamed live on ESPN3.

Toledo and MU will meet for the only time this year and 64th time overall. The Rockets lead the all-time series, 38-25, winning the last 11 match-ups by an average of 12.0 ppg (68.7-56.7) since the 2009-10 campaign. 

The RedHawks hold a 16-14 edge in home games, but Toledo has won the last five meetings in Millett Hall. A year ago, Toledo claimed a 64-50 home victory (Jan. 7).

Miami's most recent victory against the Rockets occurred in the 2008 MAC Tournament Semifinals when it secured a 70-66 neutral-court decision in Quicken Loans Arena (March 14).


Highlights from UT's game against Buffalo.


Head Coach Tricia Cullop post-game.


Junior Kaayla McIntyre post-game.