University at Buffalo
10-9, 2-6MAC
Northern Illinois
9-11, 2-7MAC
Women's Hoops Drops Heartbreaker At The Buzzer To Northern Illinois, 76-74
1/30/2016 12:00:00β―AM | Women's Basketball
DEKALB, IL – The University at Buffalo, the State University of New York women's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker on the road at Northern Illinois on Saturday afternoon, 76-74. Despite a career-best 31 points and 14 rebounds from Joanna Smith, the Bulls dropped their fifth straight MAC game to fall to 10-9 overall and 2-6 in MAC play.
"This game was nip and tuck until the end," said head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. "I challenge everyone to watch that last quarter and see exactly how it was ran. We need to continue to get better and learn to change with how the game is being played and we didn't know how to adjust today."
After 39 minutes of back-and-forth play, the outcome of the game came down to the final 10 seconds as the Bulls trailed by one. Sophomore point guard Stephanie Reid took the ball and drove down low, pump faked and drew a foul to head to the charity stripe for a pair. After calmly sinking a pair of free throws to give UB the 74-73 lead with 3.9 seconds remaining, the Huskies took a timeout and advanced the ball to half court. On the ensuing out-of-bounds play, Cassidy Glenn came off a screen and drilled a circus three-pointer against good defense at the buzzer to give the Huskies the 76-74 victory.
Both teams got off to great starts offensively on Saturday as at the first media timeout of the game, the score was tied, 16-16 as UB went 7-for-11 from the floor and the Huskies shot 6-for-10. After back-to-back buckets from Katherine Ups and a layup from Cassie Oursler tied the game at six, the Huskies then went on a 5-0 run to take the 11-6 lead. Freshman Gabi Bade didn't let the Huskies get too far ahead as she drained a deep three-pointer. Reid notched a pair of layups before Smith drilled her first of seven three's to tie the game at 16 at the first media timeout. The two sides exchanged a pair of jumpers down the stretch to end the first quarter tied at 20.
The turning point in the opening half came just three minutes into the second quarter as the Bulls were able to go on a 13-0 run to take a 10-point lead. Oursler sparked the 13-0 run with four straight points before Courtney Wilkins drained back-to-back three's to give the Bulls the lead. After a NIU free throw, Oursler was able to make another layup and Smith hit a free throw to make the run 16-1 in favor of the Bulls as they took their biggest lead of the game, 38-26. The Huskies were able to finish the half on a 11-4 run to bring the score within five at half, 42-37 in favor of the visitors.
UB went 17-for-36 (47%) from the floor in the first half while the Huskies went 14-for-36 (39%). The Huskies held the slim 24-19 edge in rebounds in the first half but the Bulls were able to dominate inside the paint, outscoring Northern Illinois 21-8 in the paint.
After the break, the Bulls were able to extend their lead out to 12 as Smith took the team on her back for 10 minutes. The Southaven, MS native went off for 18 points in the quarter as she connected on five from behind the arc in the quarter. She scored 18 of the Bulls 22 points, setting a career-high for points in a quarter for the junior.
The Bulls were outscored 24-10 over the final 10 minutes of action as the Huskies were able to secure the home victory.
Smith carried the Bulls offense on Saturday as she was able to record her first double-double of the season, notching career-highs in points (31), rebounds (14) and three-pointers (seven). The junior finished off her impressive outing going 10-for-19 from the floor and 7-for-11 from behind the arc while notching three assists and two steals. The seven three-pointers for Smith rank third in program history for three's in a game while she broke the 20-point plateau for the 10th time this season and eighth time in her last 10 games. The sharp shooter is now tied for eighth all-time (Brittany Hedderson) in program history for three-pointers made in a single season (58).
"I thought that Joanna was great today," stated Legette-Jack. "She went out there with every vigor in her body and she stepped up when she had the opportunities to put the ball in the hole."
Oursler had a strong game inside before fouling out as she netted 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 27 minutes while Katherine Ups finished with 10 points, three rebounds and two assists in the loss. Sophomore Courtney Wilkins finished with a career-high nine points and three rebounds off the bench in 12 minutes of action. Freshman Gabi Bade earned her first career start and finished with three points and two boards.
For the game, the Bulls shot 39.4% from the floor while the Huskies were able to shoot 42.9%. The Bulls finished with 10 three-pointers and 12 free throws while the Huskies led the rebound battle, 48-37. The UB defense forced 14 NIU turnovers that turned into 14 UB points while the Bulls committed a season-low 10 turnovers in the game.
The Bulls will return home on Wednesday night as they play host to first-place Ohio at Alumni Arena at 7:00 pm.
