BUFFALO, New York – Western Michigan women's basketball came up just shy on the road this evening in their face off with the Buffalo Bulls (15-7, 9-3 MAC) by a final score of 71-64. The defeat now puts the Broncos at 12-8 on the year, and 6-5 against Mid-American Conference opponents.

The first quarter featured the two teams trading baskets through the initial ten minutes. Sophomore guard Lauren Ross got things started with six first quarter points, while fellow sophomore guard Megan Wagner showed off her court vision, racking up four assists in the first. The Broncos were able to answer the UB buckets for the majority of the opening stanza thanks to a balanced scoring effort as five different members were able to put points on the board.

After a high-scoring first quarter, both teams began to slow down offensively as the Bulls won quarter number two by a 15-9 margin to lead WMU 35-25. Ross added five more points in the second to bring her total to 11 going into the break.

Western Michigan was aggressive on the glass in the opening two quarters, holding a slight 20-18 advantage over the Bulls as five Broncos grabbed three or more boards. Megan Wagner had a solid first half facilitating, dishing out four assists while also leading her team with five rebounds and adding a bucket to the WMU cause.

The third period was very much back and forth as the Broncos trailed in the 10-minute stretch by just one point, 17-16. Redshirt junior forward Abby Voss added five points and a pair of assists off the bench, and the group cashed in on two of their three attempts from deep in the third.

The two teams continued to counter each other through the first five minutes of the game's final set, as Western Michigan knocked down three of its first four shots in the fourth. Reilly Jacobson was responsible for three of the Broncos' first four buckets and secured her third double-double of the season as the 4:46 mark came and went. Jacobson ended her night finding the net on five of her final six shot attempts.

WMU made a late 6-0 run to try and make things interesting as sophomore guard Hannah Spitzley got in the passing lane for a steal and score at the other end, cutting the UB lead to just six with 43 ticks left. Despite heavy pressure from the Bronco defense, the Bulls knocked down two sets of free throws to extend their lead back to double digits. A pair of free throws and a layup from Ross made things a bit more interesting late, but was not enough to close the gap despite the Broncos winning the second half 39-36.

Western Michigan was ushered by Reilly Jacobson, who finished with 17 points on 7-13 (53.8 percent) shooting, 12 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a pair of blocks for a solid all-around performance. Lauren Ross matched that scoring total with 17 points of her own on 6-15 (40 percent) from the field to go along with six rebounds. Hannah Spitzley added nine points and three rebounds for WMU as well.

The Broncos connected on 24 of 58 shot attempts (41.4 percent) and dished out 17 dimes collectively. On the glass, Western Michigan put up a strong fight against a good rebounding Buffalo team, trailing by a slim 40-38 margin. WMU won the war down low, leading the game in paint points 32-26, and also held an advantage in bench points as the reserves outscored Buffalo's lone substitute 13-5 in the contest.

The team now takes a day before returning to the hardwood on Wednesday evening, when they host the Akron Zips for their second meeting in seven days. Tip-off from Kalamazoo is set for 7 p.m. and will be available for streaming via ESPN3. Student get into all WMU home games with a valid Bronco ID, and further ticket information can be found at www.wmubroncos.com/tickets, or by calling 1-888-4-WMU-TIX.

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