University at Buffalo
8-3
Sacred Heart
2-9
Women's Hoops Dominates Sacred Heart, 66-53
12/29/2015 12:00:00β―AM | Women's Basketball
Cassie Oursler post game interview
FAIRFIELD, CT – The University at Buffalo, The State University of New York women's basketball team (8-3, 0-0 MAC) recorded their second straight road win on Tuesday night at Sacred Heart, 66-53. With the win, the Bulls have their best start to a season (8-3) since the 2000-01 campaign.
The story of the game for the Bulls was the play of Cassie Oursler, who appeared in her first game in the blue and white and completely dominated down low, notching a double-double in the win with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Oursler did most of her damage in the second and third quarters and played in 20 minutes while going 6-for-10 from the floor and notching four blocks.
The Pioneers got off to a quick start on Tuesday night as they scored the first four points of the opening quarter before Joanna Smith took over offensively for the Bulls, scoring eight straight to give UB the 8-6 lead. Oursler checked into the game and made an immediate impact for the Bulls midway through the quarter as she recorded two blocks and netted back-to-back layups for her first career points at UB. Courtney Wilkins drilled a three-pointer and Camera Miley finished the scoring in the first with a nice runner in the lane to give the Bulls the 19-10 lead after 10 minutes of play.
The Bulls took over the game in the second quarter as they used their tough defense to force multiple turnovers and held the Pioneers to just 12 points in the quarter. The Bulls offense began to click in the quarter as they notched 21 points to take the 40-22 lead into the locker room. UB had three buckets from downtown in the quarter as Smith connected on a pair and Stephanie Reid connected on her first of the game. Oursler and Liisa Ups had a strong presence as they each recorded four points in the quarter to propel UB to their largest lead of the game at the end of the half.
UB came out of half with the same intensity that they finished the opening half with as they were able to maintain their lead after 30 minutes of action. The Bulls had five players score in the third as Smith led the way with three points while Katherine Ups made the best hustle play of the game, earning three offensive boards that led to a Smith bucket.
Smith started off the fourth quarter with seven straight points en route to a team-high 24 points and Camera Miley drilled her first jumper of the quarter to give UB their largest lead of the game, 21 points. Freshman Brittany Morrison finished off the scoring in the game for the Bulls as she netted three quick points at the end of the quarter to give UB the 66-53 win.
Leading the way offensively was Smith who netted 24 points and grabbed seven boards while going 8-for-14 from the floor and 5-for-7 from behind the arc. Smith finished with a career-high five three-pointers while scoring 20+ points for the second straight game, the first time she has done that in her UB career. Oursler pitched in with 12 points and 10 boards while Miley netted six points and Wilkins finished with five points and four boards.
As a team, UB shot 42.4% from the floor while their stingy defense held the Pioneers to 29.7% from the floor. The Bulls improved to 8-0 on the year while shooting a higher percentage from the floor than their counterparts. The Bulls bench had a huge impact on the game as they netted 29 points while Sacred Heart got 13 from their bench. The Bulls also held the 16-5 edge in assists as Karin Moss had a game-high five assists in the win.
The Bulls will return to the floor on Saturday, January 2 as they open up MAC play against the Eastern Michigan Eagles on the road. Tip is set for 2:30 pm in Ypsilanti, MI.
