BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Villa Maria College women's basketball team were on the road on Sunday, as they took on cross-town rival, Bryant and Stratton-Buffalo. The game was competitive from the beginning, but a critical third-quarter proved to be the difference as the Vikings were outscored 21-11 in that frame and fell by a final score of 73-68.
The Vikings fell behind by six in the opening five minutes of action, but they responded well with baskets by
Danyea Barclay and
Cortinea Smith to get to within one point.
Chmicka Kennedy converted a three-point play moments later to put Villa in front, 11-9 with 4:38 to play. The two teams proceeded to trade the lead back-and-forth, until free-throws by
Maria Falanga and Barclay, but the Vikings ahead by one, before three-pointers by
Leah McQuiller and Barclay gave the Vikings a 23-16 advantage after the first. At the start of the second frame, Villa began to extend their lead to double digits thanks to another three by Barclay, they maintained that advantage for the first five minutes of the second, before the bobcats began to inch back into the game. Heading into half time, Villa held a slim 46-42 lead over their rivals.
The Vikings remained in the lead for the first six minutes of the second half, but the Bobcats chipped away enough and were able to claim a 55-54 advantage with 3:39 on the clock. The Villa offense went cold and heading into the fourth quarter, the Vikings trailed 63-57. The fourth quarter was once again even, with Villa outscoring Bryant and Stratton 11-10, but they could not hit enough shots to win the game.
Barclay was once again impressive, scoring 34 points on 13-for-19 shooting. She also secured a double-double with 11 rebounds and swatted away six shots. Falanga contributed 13 points to go along with six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Kennedy was the other Vikings with double-digit scoring with 12 points. She also finished with seven rebounds and six steals.
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