Women's Hoops Welcomes Akron To Alumni Arena On Saturday Afternoon
1/15/2016 12:00:00β―AM | Women's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo, the State University of New York women's basketball team (10-5, 2-2 MAC) returns home on Saturday afternoon for a Mid-American Conference matchup with the Akron Zips. Game time is set for 1:00 pm at Alumni Arena and is the first game of a doubleheader with the UB men's team.
The Bulls are coming off of a close road loss at Ball State on Wednesday night as they missed a game-tying three in the final seconds of the game, falling 68-63. Joanna Smith continued her great play for the Bulls in the loss as she finished with 21 points and six rebounds, going over the 20-point plateau for the thrid straight game and seventh time this season. Stephanie Reid had another strong game at the point for UB as she netted 11 points to go along with seven assists, four rebounds and two steals in 29 minutes of action.
COACH JACK GOES FOR WIN #200 AGAINST THE ZIPS
After dropping a close road match to Ball State on Wednesday, the Bulls turn their attention to beating the Akron Zips on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Arena. The Bulls will not only be playing for their 11th win of the season, they will also be playing for career win #200 for head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. Coach Jack has been the head coach for three programs over her 14 year career and she is in search of the milestone 200th career victory. The win will not come easy for UB as the Zips are coming off of a dominant road victory at Bowling Green in their last contest and enter the game with the same, 2-2 mark, record as the Bulls in MAC play.
COMEBACK FALLS JUST SHORT AT BALL STATE
After falling behind by as many as 10 points with just over four minutes to play on Wednesday, the Bulls tried their hardest to make the come-from-behind win but it ended up just short. The Bulls used an 11-2 run to cut the Ball State lead to just onebefore the Cardinals made it a three-point game with eight seconds remaining. With a chance to send the game to overtime, junior leading scorer Joanna Smith fired a long range shot that nearly fell but was rebounded by the Cardinals en route to the 68-63 win. The Bulls were led by Joanna Smith who finished with 21 points while Mariah Suchan came off the bench and snagged a team-high eight boards in the loss.
JOANNA SMITH CONTINUES TO PRODUCE
Junior guard Joanna SMith continued her dynamic play for the Bulls on Wednesday night at Ball State. The righty finished off her night with a game-high 21 points and six rebounds. This is the third straight game in which Smith has notched 20+ points for UB. The smooth shooter was been nearly unstoppable over her last six games as she is averaging a team-best 22.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest. On the year, Smith ranks fourth in the MAC in scoring (17.3 PPG) while also ranking third on the Bulls in rebounding (5.6 RPG). She also ranks first in the MAC in scoring in conference games (21.5 PPG) and fourth in three-pointers made (42). The Bulls are 6-1 on the year when Smith notches 20+ points. Smith was named MAC East Player of the Week for the third time on Monday afternoon. Doing so, she became the first UB player since Kourtney Brown in 2010-11 to win the conference weekly award at least three times in a season.
REID ALL ABOUT IT
After some growing pains early in the season, sophomore point guard Stephanie Reid produced her second straight quality game for the Bulls on Wednesday in the road loss to Ball State. Reid was the floor general all game long as she was able to produce 11 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals for the Bulls. Reid was consistently the Bulls second option on offense and when she was asked to make a shot she did, as she went 4-for-6 from the floor and 2-for-3 from deep. The game seemed to slow down for Reid and she was able to return to her elite point guard level, accounting for multiple easy buckets on the offensive end of the court. Through 15 games this season, Reid has continued to prosper into one of the best point guards in the conference as she is averaging 9.1 points, 4.5 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals. Reid's impact on the game goes deeper than just points and assists as the sophomore's leadership and calmness on the court are unmatched by most point guards in the conference.
SCOUTING THE ZIPS
The Akron Zips enter Saturday's game against the Bulls with a 8-7 overall record and a 2-2 MAC mark. The Zips are coming off of an impressive conference win on the road at Bowling Green last time out, 71-55. The Zips have won seven of their last 10 games overall. As a team, the Zips are averaging 72.3 points while allowing 68.5 on the defensive end of the court. Leading the Zips' offensive charge is Anita Brown who is averaging 21.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Hannah Plybon has had a solid impact as she is averaging 15.7 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.
