Women's Hoops Returns Home On Saturday Afternoon To Host Sacred Heart
11/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY - The unbeaten University at Buffalo women's basketball team returns home on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 pm as they welcome the Sacred Heart Pioneers to Alumni Arena. This marks the fourth home game of the season for the Bulls as they aim for their second straight 5-0 start to a season for the first time in program history.
BULLS LOOK TO END NOVEMBER UNBEATEN
The Bulls are aiming to end November with an unblemished record for the second straight season as they welcome the Sacred Heart Pioneers to Alumni Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Bulls enter with a perfect 4-0 record while the Pioneers come to Buffalo sporting a 2-2 record after winning at Binghamton on Wednesday afternoon, 77-69. If the Bulls are able to notch a win on Saturday it will mark the just the second time since 2000-01 that they have started the season out 5-0.
BULLS SNEAK OUT 71-69 WIN AT DUQUESNE
Facing their biggest test of the early going on Tuesday afternoon on the road, the UB women's basketball team came up with their best 40-minute effort of the season. Trailing by as many as eight in the first half, the Bulls battled back and were able to get the game-winning bucket from Cassie Oursler with three seconds left to seal the win. UB was led offensively by Stephanie Reid who had a breakout game with 15 points, seven assists, three rebounds and two steals while Oursler and JoAnna Smith each finished with 11 points in the win.
HOME COOKIN'
The Bulls have been a great home team over the last 3+ seasons under head coach Felisha Legette-Jack as they own a 29-13 record at Alumni Arena. UB hasn't lost more than five games at home in a season in the past three seasons as they finished 2015-16 with a 9-5 record on their home court. UB has started off their 2016-17 campaign with three straight home wins. The Buffalo offense is averaging 69.0 PPG while allowing just 49.7 PPG at home this season.
NON-CONFERENCE STRENGTH
The Bulls have begun to have success in the non-conference portion of their schedule recently as over the past 3+ seasons, UB owns a 26-13 record against non-conference foes. The Bulls were especially good against non-conference opponents last season as they owned a 8-4 record after starting the season off at 6-0. The Bulls are 4-0 against non-conference foes so far this season as they are winning by an average of 15.0 PPG.
SPREAD OFFENSE
One of the major strengths of the Bulls this season has been their depth at every position. The Bulls have played all 13 players in at least one game this season while 12 players have appeared in at least three games. Buffalo has seen 10 players net at least seven points in a game this season and they have been led in scoring by four different players in each of their four wins this season. UB has had at least eight players score in all four games this season.
THE PINE IS FINE
The Buffalo bench continued to produce at a high level on Tuesday afternoon as they netted 24 points in the win. Leading the way off the bench was Courtney Wilkins who scored nine first half points while Summer Hemphill finished with six and Gabi Bade notched five in the win. On the year, UB improved to 4-0 when their bench outscores their opponents bench. Buffalo is averaging 32 PPG from their bench players.
FRESHMAN PHENOM
Freshman forward Summer Hemphill continued to grow and earn the trust of the UB coaching staff on Tuesday afternoon in the Bulls win over Duquesne. The Buffalo, NY native played the whole second half in a tight game and she finished with six points, five rebounds and two blocks. The lengthy forward collected back-to-back blocks in the final couple minutes to seal the win for the Bulls as she continues to impress on both ends of the court. Through four career games, Hemphill is averaging 9.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.0 assists.
NOT YOUR AVERAGE JO
After earning UB Athlete of the Week honors last week, senior JoAnna Smith continued her strong play for UB as she notched 11 points, six rebounds and a season-best four assists in the win over Duquesne. Smith drilled a big three-pointer in the fourth quarter to give UB the lead and she assistsed on Cassie Oursler's game-winning three-point play with three seconds left. The Southaven, MS native was able to net a pair of threes in the win over Duquesne and has now connected on at least one three pointer in 39 of her last 40 games and at least three triples in 23 of her last 40 games. The Southaven, MS native currently ranks seventh in program history in three-pointers made with 128 and sits just one triple away from sixth place and four away from fifth place on the all-time charts. Buffalo improved to 3-0 this season and 22-11 over the past two seasons when Smith scores at least 10 points in a game. She is now just nine points shy of 900 career points in a Buffalo jersey.
OURSLER NETS FIRST CAREER GAME-WINNER
After a strong start to the season, junior Cassie Oursler came up with the biggest play of the season so far for the Bulls as she took a JoAnna Smith feed and finished off a layup and free throw to seal UB's 71-69 win. The game-winning bucket was the first of Oursler's career as she finished off the game with 11 points, three rebounds and one block in 17 minutes after getting in early foul trouble. On the season, Oursler is averaging 19.0 minutes, 9.0 points and 4.0 rebounds while earning four starts. Dating back to last season, Oursler has scored in double figures in seven of her last 11 games while recording at least one block in 12 of 14 as she has turned into a defensive stopper inside the paint for UB.
REID ALL ABOUT IT
After struggling to score the ball early on this season, junior point guard Stephanie Reid had her breakout game for the Bulls on Tuesday in the win over Duquesne. Reid finished off her impressive game with a season-high 15 points, seven assists, three rebounds and two steals as her late three-pointer gave UB the momentum they needed to close out the win. With her seven assists, Reid moved into a tie for 12th place on the all-time assists charts with 261 career dimes. Her 15-point output also gave her 499 career points, one shy of the 500 career points plateau. Despite the slow start to the season, Reid is one of the best point guards in the conference as she capped her fantastic sophomore season with the game-winning shot at the buzzer in the MAC Championship game to give UB their first ever MAC title.
BAD(E) TO THE BONE
Sophomore Gabi Bade has proved to be a legitamate scoring threat off the Buffalo bench over her two-year career and she continued to provide a spark on Tuesday afternoon. The Milpitas, CA native notched five quick points, an assist and steal across 17 minutes at the point for UB in the win over Duquesne. The sophomore is having a career year for UB as she is averaging 20.0 minutes, 9.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists while also netting a career-high 16 points earlier in the season. UB is 2-0 this season and 4-1 over the past two seasons when Bade nets at least 10 points.
SUCHAN EARNS SECOND STRAIGHT START
Entering the season as a reserve hasn't slowed down the development of junior Mariah Suchan as she was awarded her second straight start of the season at power forward on Tuesday. Suchan again proved to be a great defender and she finished with a season-high eight points and five rebounds over 22 minutes of action. The junior is averaging a career-best 16.3 minutes, 4.0 points and 5.3 rebounds so far this season. Suchan has earned five career starts with the Bulls owning a 3-2 mark in those games.
ONWUKA CONTINUES STEADY PLAY
After breaking out in a big way last game against Manhattan, freshman Theresa Onwuka continued her strong play off the bench for the Bulls. The Nigeria native played nine minutes in the second half and finished with four points and two rebounds while using her length and athleticism to hamper the Dukes on the defensive end of the court. Onwuka is averaging 9.0 MPG, 3.3 PPG, 1.8 RPG and 1.5 SPG through four career games.
FULL COURT PRESS
Junior forward Courtney Wilkins entered this season with a much improved defensive game which has garnered her more playing time for the Bulls. Wilkins had her best half of the season on Tuesday as she netted nine first half points to help UB stick around and eventually defeat the Duquesne Dukes. The Australia native netted a pair of triples and sank three free throws to go along with a rebound and steal in 15 minutes of action. The sharpshooter is now averaging 3.0 points and 1.8 rebounds across 8.5 minutes/game this season.
UPS, UPS AND AWAY
Earning the starting nod for the second straight season at the small forward position, Katherine Ups was continued to grow into an important player for the Bulls. The junior had a quiet but effective game on Tuesday as she finished with two points, three rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal across 23 minutes. On the year, Ups is averaging 7.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.8 steals across an average of 22.8 minutes of action per game.
CLEANING THE GLASS
One of the keys to the Bulls success last season was winning the battle of the boards and this continued to be true in the Bulls win over Duquesne on Tuesday. The Bulls improved to 4-0 on the year and 21-4 over the past two seasons when winning the rebounding battle. The Bulls used some key offensive rebounds down the stretch to outrebound the Dukes 37-35 for the game. UB was able to grab 17 offensive rebounds that turned into 12 second chance points.
TURNING THEM OVER
For the second straight game, UB was able to win the turnover battle as they forced 15 Duquesne turnovers while only committing 11. The Bulls converted on the 15 turnovers by the Dukes as they produced a season-high 26 points off of those turnovers. On the year, UB is forcing an average of 19 turnovers/game while turning those into an average of 22.5 PPG.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
The strength of the Bulls over the past two seasons has been their defense and that has continued early on this season as UB improved to 4-0 on the year after holding Duquesne to 69 points on Tuesday. The Bulls defense tightened up in the second half as they held the Dukes to 37% shooting from the floor and just 17% from behind the arc as UB collected the 71-69 win. Buffalo improved to 28-7 over the last two seasons when holding their opponents under 70 points and 12-0 when holding their opponents to scoring 50 points or less.
RUNNING WITH THE BULLS
The Bulls haven't been known to be a team that likes to get out on the fast break and run but that trend has begun to change early on this season with the addition of some athletic and talented freshman. The Bulls held the 11-2 edge in fast break points on Tuesday as they improved to 4-0 on the year when winning this category. Over the four wins, UB owns a 39-6 edge in fast break points.
SHOOTING FOR THE STARS
One of the keys to success for the Bulls over the past couple of seasons under head coach Felisha Legette-Jack has been shooting a better percentage from the floor than their opponents. The Bulls weren't able to outshoot the Dukes on Tuesday but were still able to collect the win as they were outshot for the first time this season. The Dukes shot a blistering 52% from the floor in the first half before UB locked in defensively and held them to just 37% shooting in the second half. UB is now 3-0 this season and 20-1 over the past two seasons when shooting a higher percentage from the floor than their opponents.
CHARITY STRIPE PROWESS
Having a point guard who can shoot free throws at a high percentage is a major plus for teams hoping to compete for championships and Buffalo has just that in junior Stephanie Reid. The Melbourne, Australia native has been great at the charity stripe for the Bulls over her career as she has made 125-of-163 attempts (76.7%), ranking fifth in program history for free throw percentage. Reid saw a steady improvement last season as she went 82-for-101 (81.2%) on the year, ranking seventh in the MAC.
REPEAT AFTER ME
The UB women's basketball team is coming off of their first 20-win season since 1996-97 and their first-ever MAC Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2015-16. The Bulls have steadily improved over their four seasons under head coach Felisha Legette-Jack as they went 12-20 in 2012-13; 17-13 in 2013-14; 19-13 in 2014-15 and 20-14 last season. The Bulls are looking to become the third team to win back-to-back MAC Championships and the first to do so since Bowling Green in 2010 and 2011. Buffalo is looking to become just the third program in MAC history to earn back-to-back championships, joining Bowiling Green and Toledo.
MOST IMPROVED SCORER IN THE NCAA
Buffalo senior shooting guard JoAnna Smith flourished into a star last season as she was awarded the starting spot and was the vocal point of the UB offense. As a junior, Smith turned into one of the best players in the MAC and she was the most improved scorer in the nation as she went from 5.6 points/game as a sophomore to 18.3 points/game as a junior. The 12.7 points/game improvement was the best of any player in the NCAA last year. The scoring increase had a lot to do with Smith's ability to hit the outside shot as she set a program record for three-pointers in a season with 100.
EXPERIENCED SQUAD
The Bulls return 10 letterwinners to a MAC Championship squad from a season ago. Buffalo returns all five starters to the lineup as Stephanie Reid, JoAnna Smith, Katherine Ups, Brittany Morrison and Cassie Oursler are all back for the Bulls. UB lost only one senior, Karin Moss, to graduation and three other bench players left the program. Buffalo is returning 90 percent of their scoring and 84 percent of their minutes played from a season ago as they look to regain their form that they showed late last season.
