University at Buffalo
9-4 (1-1MAC)
Central Michigan
7-6 (1-1MAC)
Women's Hoops Collects First MAC Victory; Downs Central Michigan, 67-61
1/6/2016 12:00:00β―AM | Women's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo, The State University of New York women's basketball team (9-4, 1-1 MAC) earned their first hard-fought conference game of the season on Wednesday night in front of 875 fans at Alumni Arena, defeating Central Michigan, 67-61. The victory against the Chippewas marked UB's first victory in the series since 2010 and first under head coach Felisha Legette-Jack.
"What an exciting game after a tough loss to Eastern Michigan," said head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. "I really challenged this team and told them they had more value than what they showed against Eastern. I thought that last time out we brought poodles and they brought pit bulls, a major difference, and I challenged our team to be tougher and to get after it. They rose to that challenge today and i couldn't be more proud of their effort. A lot more room to grow but it's neat to see different people scoring and good things are happening when we share the ball."
The key to the victory on Wednesday night for the Bulls was the play of their bench as they outscored the Chippewas 29-0 in bench production. The 29 points contributed by the bench was the second most this season for the Bulls as they were led by a pair of freshman, Brittany Morrison and Gabi Bade. Morrison finished off her career game with her first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds while Bade added 10 points and a career-best seven boards.
The Bulls jumped out to a quick lead in the opening period as the Chippewas had no answer for Joanna Smith through six minutes of play. The junior nailed a pair of three-pointer and scored 10 of the first 12 points for the Bulls as they raced out to a 12-5 lead. After a pair of Central Michigan buckets brought the visitors within two, 14-12, Mirte Scheper finished a layup and Smith drilled a deep ball to give UB the 19-12 lead. The Chippewas were able to inch closer at the final buzzer as Presley Hudson hit a contested three-pointer at the buzzer, making the score 19-17 in favor of the Bulls after 10 minutes of action.
The Bulls used a strong second quarter to extend their lead out to nine points at halftime as they were able to outscore the Chippewas 16-9. After the Chippewas tied the score up at 19 on their first possession of the second quarter, the Bulls offense took over as Cassie Oursler netted a pair of layups and Smith scored a contested layup to stretch the UB lead out to five. A 12-4 spurt over the final six minutes of the quarter extended the UB lead to the largest of the game, 11, behind four points from Oursler and four from Morrison off of hustle plays on the offensive glass.
The Bulls took the 35-26 lead into the locker room at halftime after Central Michigan converted on a layup in the final five seconds of the half.
The third quarter was a very closely contested quarter as both sides seemed to have their way with the opposing defenses as both teams netted 19 points in the quarter. The Chippewas were able to draw within five points after Presley Hudson converted on an old fashion three-point play but the Bulls didn't flinch as the bench contributed the final 11 points of the quarter to help UB maintain the nine point lead, 54-45. Bade was all over the court in the third as she notched a pair of three-pointers as well as a layup while Morrison and Scheper each contributed with a bucket during the run.
The fight of the young Bulls really showed in the fourth quarter as the more experienced Chippewas began to chip away at the lead but UB didn't back down. The Bulls fought hard to the final whistle and hit their free throws down the stretch to improve to 4-1 on home court with the 67-61 victory. The Bulls maintained their perfect record (7-0) when leading with 10 minutes left in the game and a big reason for that was hitting their free throws as they notched six free throws in the final 1:11 of the game.
Smith led all UB players in scoring with 21 points while also grabbing seven rebounds on 7-for-14 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Smith was nearly unstoppable in the first half as she netted a season-best 17 points, going 7-for-11 from the floor with three triples. Oursler continued to be a huge presence in the middle for the Bulls as she finished with eight points and eight rebounds including a team-high six offensive rebounds. Stephanie Reid got back on track with a great all around game for the Bulls as she notched seven points, a season-high seven assists, five rebounds and two steals in the victory.
As a team, the Bulls won the battle of the glass as they held the 51-45 edge in rebounds, improving to 6-1 on the year when their outrebound their opponent. The Bulls were able to snag 20 offensive rebounds that turned into 16 second chance points while also forcing 16 turnovers that turned into 15 points on the offensive end of the court. The turnover battle was won by the Bulls, 16-12, as they improved to 5-1 on the year when they commit less turnovers than their opponent. The stingy UB defense also held the Chippewas to 34.4% shooting for the game as they improved to a perfect 9-0 when shooting a higher percentage from the floor than their opponent.
The Bulls will return to the hardwood on Saturday afternoon on the road at Kent State. Tip is set for 2:00 pm at the M.A.C Center.
