Cold shooting and turnovers plagued the Oswego State women's basketball team (11-2, 4-1 SUNYAC) as the Lakers dropped their first conference game of the season to Buffalo State (6-7, 2-4 SUNYAC), 62-38.
After jumping out to a 7-6 lead, the Lakers committed six turnovers which allowed the Bengals to go on a 14-0 run and grab a 20-6 lead.
The size of Buffalo State's forwards was a problem for the Lakers, as Meagan Stover (Sr., Lake George, N.Y.) and Evelyn Josbena (Sr., Solvay, N.Y.) were responsible for seven of the Lakers' 10 first-half turnovers.
Buffalo State's Bianca Smiley went 6-for-8 from the floor, scoring 14 of her game-high 19 points in the first period. The Lakers were outscored 20-6 in the paint in the stanza. Kari Kipper (Sr., Loudonville, N.Y.) drained a big three at the end of the half, but Oswego State trailed 35-23 at the break.
Buffalo State shut down the Lakers for the first eight minutes of the second half, going on a 10-0 run, to virtually seal the game with a 45-23 lead. Oswego State finished the game with 22 turnovers and only shot 13-for-48 (27.1 percent) from the floor. The Laker starters combined for 18 turnovers.
Smiley and fellow Bengal forwards Shay Jackson and Ashley Wallace totaled 46 points and 25 rebounds in the game, tormenting the Laker bigs for the entire contest. The Bengals finished with a 34-14 edge in points in the paint.
Kipper led Oswego State with 11 points, and was the only Laker in double digits.
The Lakers have a week off before they host Brockport at 6 p.m., Friday, Jan. 18.
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