Bulls Look To Snap Two-Game Skid On Wednesday Night Against Western Michigan
1/19/2016 12:00:00β―AM | Women's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo, the State University of New York women's basketball team (10-6, 2-3 MAC) set their sights on the Western Michigan Broncos on Wednesday night inside Alumni Arena. Tip is set for 7:00 pm as the Bulls look to snap their recent two-game losing streak.
COACH JACK GOES FOR WIN #200 AGAINST THE BRONCOS
After dropping two straight MAC games, the Bulls turn their attention to beating the Western Michigan Broncos on Wednesday night 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 Broncos are coming off of back-to-back dominant MAC wins as they downed Kent State, 73-52, and Miami (OH), 80-66. The Broncos have won three of their last four overall.
BULLS FALL AT ALUMNI ARENA TO THE ZIPS
The Bulls offense sputtered in the third quarter on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Arena as the Akron Zips were able to take the 13-point lead into the final quarter and eventually down UB. The loss was the Bulls second straight loss, marking just the second time this season they have lost two straight. For the game, UB shot 29.2% from the floor while the Zips shot 39%. The Bulls were led in scoring by Joanna Smith who finished with 16 points while Cassie Oursler notched a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards in the loss. The Bulls won the rebounding battle, 46-43, and the second chance points battle, 23-10, but were upended by the Zips.
OURSLER NOTCHES DOUBLE-DOUBLE IN LOSS
There is no hiding the fact that when Cassie Ourlser is on the floor and not in foul trouble, the Bulls are a handful to handle. The sophomore continued to produce on the inside for UB on Saturday despite getting into quick foul trouble in the first half. Oursler finished the game with 13 points and 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season in only 13 minutes of action. After scoring four points and picking up two fouls in the first quarter, Oursler was forced to watch the rest of the half. She came out with a purpose in the third quarter as she notched nine points and grabbed eight boards in nine minutes of action before picking up her fourth foul. Oursler not only produces on the offensive end of the court, her presence in the middle makes opponents alter shots which turn into misses. On the year, she is averaging 8.2 points and 7.5 rebounds while starting the last five games.
JOANNA SMITH HAS RARE OFF GAME
Junior guard Joanna Smith had a rare off game on Saturday afternoon against Akron as she just couldn't find her stroke early on. Despite going just 5-for-23 from the floor, Smith finished with 16 points and led the Bulls in scoring. Even with her offensive game not where she would have liked it to be, Smith helped the team in other ways as she grabbed four rebounds while producing a career-high six steals for the Bulls. The smooth shooter was been nearly unstoppable over her last seven games as she is averaging a team-best 21.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.0 steals per contest. On the year, Smith ranks fifth in the MAC in scoring (17.3 PPG) while also ranking third on the Bulls in rebounding (5.5 RPG). She also ranks first in the MAC in scoring in conference games (20.4 PPG) and third in three-pointers made (45). 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 last week and in 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 third straight quality game for the Bulls on Saturday in the loss to Akron. Reid was the floor general all game long as she was able to produce 11 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals for the Bulls. 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 16 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.
DEFENSE HOLDS STRONG IN LOSS
There is no hiding the fact that the UB's women's basketball team will be relying heavily on their defense and 16 games into the season, the defense has responded admirably. Buffalo currently ranks 40th in the nation in field goal percentage defense (35.8%) and 63rd in the nation and first in the MAC in scoring defense, allowing just 57.9 points/game. The coaching staff has set a goal of allowing no more than 60 points to opponents and they have achieved this goal nine times on the year, winning eight of the nine games. The Buffalo defense didn't have their best showing of the season on Saturday against Akron but they did force 17 turnovers that led to 12 points. The Bulls held the Zips to 39% shooting from the floor and 25% from behind the arc in the loss. The UB defense has forced at least 11 turnovers in every game this year including a season-high 31 forced turnovers against LIU Brooklyn on Nov. 14.
BULLS GETTING AFTER IT ON THE OFFENSIVE GLASS
One of the bright spots for the Bulls on Sunday was they way they attacked the offensive glass on a day that the shots werent falling from the outside. The Bulls went just 19-for-65 on their field goal attempts including 5-for-23 from behind the arc but they were able to snag 17 offensive rebounds. UB then produced 12 points off of those 17 offensive boards, their 12th game this season with at least 10 second chance points. The Bulls have been great on the offensive glass as of late, grabbing an average of 17.0 offensive rebounds per game over their last five games while producing 15.0 second chance points over that same five game span. UB is now 10-2 on the season when they notch at least 10 second chance points in a game.
SCOUTING THE BRONCOS
The Western Michigan Broncos enter Wednesday night's showdown with the Bulls with an 11-6 overall record and a 3-2 MAC mark. The Broncos downed Miami (OH) last time out by the score of 80-66 and they have won three of their last four games overall. Leading the way offensively for the Broncos is Miracle Woods who is averaging 13.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest. Jessica Jessing has started all 17 games while averaging 9.8 points and a team-best 6.8 rebounds. The Broncos spread out offensive attack averages 65.9 points per game while allowing just 61.1 points against this season.
