Champions! UB women's basketball defeats Troy for WNIT title
The comeback topped every other comeback the University at Buffalo women’s basketball team had made this season. And this comeback won the Bulls a championship.
Only a few weeks ago, the University at Buffalo women’s basketball team felt the anguish of falling short of reaching a goal it had set for the program.
The Bulls felt it hard after losing to Toledo in a Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinal March 14 in Cleveland.
They grieved for a couple of days. But UB coach Becky Burke was insistent, atop the podium at Rocket Arena, that the Bulls still had work to do.
Then, when they accepted a bid to the 48-team WNIT, they reset. They put new fuel in the fire. From that point, there was no turning back. And losing was unacceptable. Only a championship would suffice.
That three-week trek ended Saturday at Alumni Arena, when the Bulls beat Troy, 88-84, for the WNIT championship.
UB's WNIT title came almost three years to the date after UB announced Burke's hire, on April 6, 2022.
University at Buffalo guard Chellia Watson celebrates with her teammates after an 88-84 victory over Troy in the WNIT championship game at Alumni Arena on Saturday. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
“This means everything, to this program,” said UB guard Chellia Watson, who scored a game-high 23 points and added seven rebounds and six assists. “To the people who came before us. The people who won MAC championships. We do this for them, for the program, for each other. I’m so happy and so blessed to have the teammates that I have, and I’m so glad we got the job done.”
The Bulls (30-7) knew they were ready for one more comeback, too. Because, as Burke said after the win Saturday, what other way would the Bulls have it?
“That’s who we are,” Burke said. “That’s a resilient group of young women.”
The win against Troy was their fourth comeback in five WNIT games. UB erased a 14-point deficit at halftime, including a six-point deficit early in the fourth quarter.
“All year, we’ve been a second-half team, and I think in the hard moments, we really come together as a team,” said UB wing Terah Harness, whose 3-pointer with less than three minutes left gave the Bulls an 83-81 lead.
University at Buffalo forward Terah Harness makes a 3-point basket against Troy during the second half of the WNIT championship game at Alumni Arena on Saturday. Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News
“We know what it takes to get a win, and winning is really hard. And we’ve been preparing for that since June. Since we got here in the summer. Collectively, we wanted to be here and that’s what ultimately drove us to win.”
The Bulls did something the Bills have never done since they joined the NFL. Or the Sabres. Or the UB men’s basketball team. The Bulls brought a championship to Buffalo and became the first Big 4 team since the 1977 St. Bonaventure men to win a postseason tournament.
“We had six seniors and we wanted to send them out on a win,” said Kirsten Lewis-Williams (18 points, six assists, five rebounds). “We had an opportunity to play postseason basketball, and a lot of teams don’t get that.”
Burke thought back to when the Bulls saw the initial bracket, and how her team set the goal of being the last team standing in the 48-team tournament.
“We have a chance to win this thing,” Burke recalled telling her team. “You take it one game at a time, you’re mature about your preparation, you shake off what happened in the MAC Tournament and you have a chance to win one of three national tournaments that happen every year.”
Then, Watson thought about the final minutes of the final game of UB’s season – its best and final bid for a championship.
“Defense, grit, just not giving up and showing we’ve got all the fight in the world,” Watson said. “We’d come out of a timeout and all you’d hear is Lani (Cornfield) screaming, or coach screaming, ‘One more stop! We’ve got to get this lead shorter. It was constant communication, constant want.”
Harness’ 3-pointer, though, kicked off the final tense minutes. Troy cut the lead to 86-84 with 18.6 seconds left on Emani Jenkins’ three free throws, after she was fouled by Sitota Gines. After Jordan Beaty (13 points, five rebounds) hit a free throw with 18.1 seconds left, Lewis-Williams stole the ball from Troy guard Leilani Guion and went to the line after she was fouled, making one free throw to seal the title.
UB completed a full-season orbit. The Bulls beat Troy, 80-78, in their season opener Nov. 4 at Alumni Arena, then finished the season hoisting a trophy on their home floor, after a second win against the Trojans.
Harness watched her teammates cut down the nets at Alumni Arena as fans surrounded the court, covered in multicolored confetti.
She joined the Bulls as a fifth-year senior in April 2024, after one season at USC Upstate and two seasons at Marshall. Before she climbed the ladder to cut her own piece of the net and cap the end of her college career, she considered what everything around her meant.
Even the detour to the WNIT that ended with a trophy.
“The MAC championship was our ultimate goal,” Harness said. “But it’s hard to win anywhere, and it’s hard to play in April. Being WNIT champions, it’s the best thing!
“It’s great for this program. We’re making history here, no matter what. With the win, it sealed us in the record books. That’s a really special thing, and we have a really special team.”