University of Toledo junior center Kaayla McIntyre scored a career-high 30 points, but it wasn’t enough for Toledo to overcome the potent offense of Buffalo as the Rockets fell 84-73 to the Bulls on Saturday afternoon at Savage Arena.
Buffalo, the second-highest scoring team in the Mid-American Conference, boasted a balanced offensive effort led by Cierra Dillard’s 21 points. Summer Hemphill added 18 points for the Bulls (17-4, 8-2 MAC), Cassie Oursler scored 15, and Stephanie Reid had 13.
Besides McIntyre’s standout performance, Toledo (15-8, 6-5 MAC) got 13 points and nine rebounds from junior Mikaela Boyd.
The loss snaps a two-game win streak for Toledo as the Rockets were coming off road wins at Bowling Green and Western Michigan.
PHOTO GALLERY: Buffalo 84, Toledo 73
VIDEO: Toledo-Buffalo
The Bulls swept the season series between the teams. Buffalo beat UT 87-69 at home Jan. 20.
Toledo started with the game’s first five points and took a 13-10 lead with 2 minutes, 42 seconds left in the first quarter after a Sarah St-Fort layup. But Buffalo then closed the quarter on a 10-3 run, capped off by a Dillard 3-pointer that beat the buzzer and gave the Bulls a 20-16 lead.
In the second, Toledo regained the lead after a McIntyre three-point play gave the Rockets a 31-30 lead with 4:05 remaining. Buffalo then used a 15-4 run to close out the half and take a 45-35 lead into the locker room.
During the run, Hemphill had three layups and two free throws, Autumn Jones hit a 3, and Reid and Mariah Suchan each added a layup.
Buffalo would lead by as many as 16 in the third after a Reid layup gave the Bulls a 60-44 edge with 4:54 to go. They took a 70-56 lead into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth, Toledo cut the Buffalo lead to 78-73 with 1:07 left, but Katherine Ups answered with a layup for the Bulls, and Reid and Dillard closed out the game with two free throws each as the Bulls held the Rockets scoreless.
Toledo struggled from the free-throw line, making just 10-of-22 foul shots (45 percent), while Buffalo cashed in by going 9-of-11 from the line.
Buffalo held a 46-32 edge in rebounding and turned 15 offensive rebounds into 22 second-chance points. The Bulls dominated with 66 points in the paint, compared to just 38 for Toledo.
McInytre was 12-of-17 from the field during her career-best scoring day, but was just 6-of-13 from the free-throw line.
Toledo goes on the road for its next two games, travelling to Miami on Wednesday and Central Michigan on Feb. 10.
Contact Brian Buckey at: bbuckey@theblade.com, 419-724-6110, or on Twitter @BrianBuckey.
First Published February 3, 2018, 10:15 p.m.
