Congratulations to Lani Cornfield on being named to the WNIT All-Tournament Team!
April 5, 2025 | ubbulls.com
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo women’s basketball team was crowned champions of the WNIT by defeating Troy, 88-84, in front of a record crowd of 5,650 at Alumni Arena on Saturday night. The Bulls rallied in the fourth quarter to win their program-record 30th game of the season.
Five Bulls scored in double figures, led by Chellia Watson who scored a game-high 23 points to go with seven rebounds and six assists. Sophomore Kirsten Lewis-Williams also stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists and senior Terah Harness scored 17 points, including 4-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. Fifth year guard Noelani Cornfield recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 assists and senior forward Jordyn Beaty added 13 points.
The Bulls won the tip and scored on their first possession to spark a 6-0 run to open the game. After the visitors cut the lead to two, Lewis-Williams went up and around her defender for the and-one bucket and UB would lead by two at the media timeout. The Trojans used a 10-2 run to go up by four at the 3:13 mark before Sitota Gines scored on a fastbreak layup and Watson drilled a deep three from the top of the key to pull Buffalo within three at the end of the first.
Troy opened the second quarter on a 15-4 run before Watson drilled another deep triple to pull UB within 11 at the media timeout. Buffalo started to find their offensive rhythm as Lewis-Williams hit Beaty for a pair of layups before Watson found the paint off the dribbled and knocked down two midrange jumpers to cut the lead to 10 at the half.
Buffalo used a 10-2 run, opened and capped by triples from Cornfield and Harness, to cut the lead to four early in the third quarter but the Trojans answered with a run of their own to go up by 10 at the media timeout. Lewis-Williams spun through traffic for an acrobatic bucket plus the foul before she came up with a massive block and Harness finished the fastbreak layup to cap an 8-0 run and pull the Bulls within three at the 2:14 mark. The teams would then trade scores and stops from there as Troy maintained a 64-61 lead at the end of the third.
Harness drilled a triple on UB’s first possession of the fourth quarter to tie the game at 64. Later, Lewis-Willaims sliced to the basket for a layup and Cornfield knocked down a midrange jumper to cut the lead to four at the 6:25 mark. The Bulls then got hot from deep as Harness and Watson connected on a pair of triples to pull UB within two at the 3:47 mark. A triple by Harness put the Bulls ahead, 83-81, with 2:52 left and then Beaty came up with the defensive play of the game. The senior forward stole a pass near midcourt and drove the length of the floor for a layup to extend the UB lead to 85-81 with 1:45 remaining. The Bulls were then able to ice the victory at the free throw line.
Buffalo scored 50 points in the paint and were efficient on offense, assisting on 25 of 25 made field goals while committing just 10 turnovers and scoring a blistering 24 points in transition. Defensively, they forced 16 turnovers, scoring 13 points off turnovers.
The Bulls finished the season with a 30-7 overall record, setting a new program record for wins in a single-season.
