University at Buffalo
10-4, 2-1
Kent State
3-10, 0-3
Joanna Smith Leads Women's Hoops To Road Victory Over Kent State, 77-66
1/9/2016 12:00:00β―AM | Women's Basketball
Stephanie Reid post game interview
KENT, OH - The University at Buffalo, The State University of New York women's basketball team (10-4, 2-1 MAC) recovered from a slow start to earn their second-straight Mid-American Conference victory on Saturday afternoon at Kent State, 77-66. The 77-points for the Bulls was a season-high effort as they earned their 10th win of the season, marking the fastest team to 10 wins since the 2000-01 season.
After a slow start, the Bulls came together as a team and produced their best offensive game of the season as they recorded 20 assists on 24 field goals. The UB defense also had a strong outing as they forced 19 turnovers that led to 35 points, a season-high.
The Bulls started off the game cold from the field as the Golden Flashes were able to race out to the 15-2 lead just six minutes into the game. After Kent State extended their early lead to 21-5, the Bulls went on an 8-0 run of their own forcing a Golden Flashes timeout. Courtney Wilkins started the run with a layup and then Joanna Smith buried her first three-pointer of the game and Katherine Ups buried the timeout forcing jumper, making the score 21-13. The Flashes were able to hit a three-pointer as the first quarter ended to take the 24-13 edge after one.
The Bulls defense picked up the struggling offense in the second quarter of play as the Flashes were only able to record five points in the quarter, the second fewest points UB has allowed in a quarter this year. With the defense digging in, the Bulls leading scorer Smith opened the quarter with a deep three-pointer to open up a 12-1 run for the Bulls. Reid was able to finish a fancy layup in the lane after a Smith steal and then Gabi Bade and Smith notched back-to-back deep balls to tie the game, 25-25. The Bulls closed out the first half with a three-pointer from Bade to take their first lead of the game as they headed to the locker room leading Kent State, 30-29.
A key factor in the Bulls overcoming of a 16-point first quarter deficit was the play of the defense as they forced 13 first half turnovers from the Flashes, turning into 21 points on the offensive end of the court for UB.
After some foul trouble in the opening half, center Cassie Oursler opened the third quarter with back-to-back layups with assists from Liisa Ups and Katherine Ups. The Bulls used a 6-2 spurt behind a Smith offensive rebound and layup and back-to-back jumpers from Stephanie Reid and Mariah Suchan, making the score 40-35. Later in the quarter, Smith drilled her fourth 3-pointer of the game to extend the UB lead to seven but the Flashes were able to cut their deficit to five at the conclusion of the third quarter.
The Bulls offensive began clicking on all cylinders in the final 10 minutes as they were able to notch 28 points as they ran away with the road victory. Smith was able to get free for three buckets from behind the arc while Reid tied a career-high with two three-pointers in the quarter. Reid was then able to put the game away down the stretch as she made 7-of-8 free throws.
Smith was once again the hardest player to guard on the court on Saturday as she was able to record her fifth game this season with 20+ points. Smith went 8-for-12 from the floor and 7-for-10 from deep en route to 25 points while she also grabbed seven boards, two assists and two steals. Reid had her best game of the season as she was able to score 19 points to go along with eight assists, five rebounds and two steals while Katherine Ups also broke into double figures with 12 points and six rebounds. Bade played another strong game off the bench as she chipped in with eight points, a career-best eight boards and a career-high four assists.
The Bulls improved to 10-0 on the year when they outshoot their opponents as they shot 43.6% from the floor while the Flashes shot 40.7%. The Bulls also won the rebounding battle for the second-straight game, 40-32, while forcing 19 turnovers and scoring 35 points off of the turnovers. The Bulls finished the game with a season-best 18 made free throws on a season-high 31 attempts.
The Bulls will return to the road for a conference matchup with Ball State on Wednesday, Jan. 13. Tip is set for 7:00 pm at the John E. Worthen Arena.
