Women's Hoops Wraps Up Non-Conference Slate On Tuesday At Sacred Heart
12/28/2015 12:00:00β―AM | Women's Basketball
GAME NOTES (.PDF)
BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo, The State University of New York women's basketball team faces their final test of the 2015 calendar year before Mid-American Conference competition begins Tuesday when they travel to Fairfield, CT, to take on the Sacred Heart Pioneers.
UB is coming off a 57-48 win over western New York Big 4 opponent, Niagara, which ended a three-game skid. It was a come-from-behind effort for Buffalo, which scored just four first quarter points and did not lead until the third quarter. They came back to shoot 49 percent overall while getting 32 points in the paint. UB was able to score 19 fastbreak points against the Purple Eagles who only sent six players to the floor.
Several Bulls set career and season marks in the win: leading scorer Joanna Smith matched her career-high with 26 points on 10-for-15 shooting while adding five rebounds and three steals; sophomore Mariah Suchan, in her second career start, pulled down a team- and career-best 12 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end; captain Liisa Ups, in a season-high 34 minutes, dished out a career-high nine assists; and junior Camera Miley was a boost off the bench scoring a season-high eight points in 21 minutes.
The Sacred Heart matchup is opportunity to finish off the unofficial first half of the season with an 8-3 record, but, coming off a win, it's also a chance for the Bulls to solidify their game before MAC games begin Jan. 2 at Eastern Michigan.
"Especially with the last game [of the non-conference season], it's going to be really important for us to win and get that momentum going into conference," point guard Stephanie Reid said. "We have to start off hard."
Setting the Bar with Defense
Setting the Bar with Defense
UB's defense has been its best weapon this season and it was back on display in the Niagara win. Finishing with 10 steals as a team, the Bulls held an opponent to fewer than 50 points for the fourth time this year -- the first since Nov. 25 versus Cornell.
Their points-allowed mark of 54.3 ranks 27th in the nation entering Saturday. In the MAC they rank first in opponent points per game, second in steals (10.7), third in field goal percentage defense (35.6), second in three-point field goal percentage defense (27.8), fourth in blocks (3.5) and second in forced turnovers (20.3).
Scouting SHU
Scouting SHU
The Pioneers' two wins this season have come against Coastal Carolina and most recently versus Binghamton on Dec. 12. They were picked to finish fifth in the Northeast Conferencce preseason coaches' poll.
Three are averaging double figures for Sacred Heart led by redshirt junior Hannah Kimmel who recently reached 900 points and 500 rebounds for her career. The Harpursville, N.Y. native is putting up 15.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest. Teammate Alissa Tarsi is scoring 11.6 points a game on average while shotting 55.6 percent from the field and grabbing 6.7 boards.
It won't be easy for the Bulls in SHU's home environment. Since 1997, the Pioneers have won 72 percent of their games at their home William H. Pitt Center while never having a losing record, per Sacred Heart sports information. This season they're 1-2.
Tip-off is 7 p.m. Join me, Sloane Martin, after the UB men's game on ESPN 1520 and streaming online.
Tip-off is 7 p.m. Join me, Sloane Martin, after the UB men's game on ESPN 1520 and streaming online.
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