The Lady Bengals made the trip to Geneseo on Tuesday to take on the undefeated Knights. The hosts were clearly the favorites to win and — despite a valiant first-half effort from head coach Kevin Clifford’s platoon — it simply was not enough, as the Bengals dropped their fifth straight, 61-47.

The Bengals went to Geneseo knowing it was going to be a tough game, and they held their ground. After the first ten minutes, Buffalo State held a 1-point lead against the Knights, led by sophomore forward Princella McCullough’s four points. The Bengals shot 42% from the field in the first quarter to the Knights’ 25%.

However, in the second quarter, the Knights outscored the Bengals, 15-10, despite the Bengals shooting 44% in the quarter to the Knights’ 23%. The Bengals had four turnovers in the quarter, and the Knights took a 25-21 lead heading into halftime

In the third quarter, the wheels began to fall off for Buffalo State as they shot only 12% on 17 shots with five turnovers and seven fouls in 10 minutes. Those seven fouls led to ten free throws for the hosts, of which eight were converted. The Knights doubled up the Bengals in the quarter, 18-9, and held a 43-30 lead going into the final frame.

In the fourth quarter, Princella McCullough went on a rampage — she had 15 of Buffalo State’s 17 fourth-quarter points. The only other Bengal to make a bucket in the fourth was freshman guard Serina Jaeger-Delgado. McCullough went 6-for-9 from the field, 3-for-3 from the free throw line and had six rebounds in the quarter, but the Knights had already pulled away.

McCullough finished the game with 19 points and was a rebound short of a double-double. Despite being hospitalized after the previous game, senior guard Taylor Graham chipped in with eight points and five boards. Shayasha Spencer also chipped in eight points off the bench.

The problem for the Bengals on Tuesday was containing forward McKenna Brooks. Brooks had 22 points in 25 minutes of work. She too fell a rebound short of a double-double. Guard Katie Durand had 15 points in her team’s victory.

Next up for the Buffalo State Bengals (6-13 overall, 3-9 SUNYAC) is the first Battle by the Lake for them this season as they travel to Fredonia to take on the Blue Devils (13-5, 8-4 SUNYAC).

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