Women's Hoops Aims For 6-0 When They Welcome UCF To Buffalo On Thursday Night
11/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BUFFALO GAME NOTES (.PDF)
UCF GAME NOTES (.PDF)
BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo women's basketball team (5-0, 0-0 MAC) will be looking for their second straight 6-0 start to the season when they welcome the Central Florida Knights to Alumni Arena on Thursday for a 7:00 pm game. UB is in search of their first 5-0 start at home since 2000-01 when the Bulls started out their home slate with seven straight wins.
Thursday night's game will also be the Bulls "Toys for Tots" game as all fans are encouraged to bring a new unwrapped toy with them. For every toy turned in, you will receive a voucher for a $10 ticket to a future game.
UB AIMS FOR 6 STRAIGHT AS THEY WELCOME UCF THURSDAY
Buffalo aims for their sixth-straight win to open the season on Thursday night as they welcome the Central Florida Knights to Alumni Arena at 7:00 pm. UB is 5-0 to start the season for the second straight year, marking the first time in program history UB has done that in back-to-back seasons. Central Florida enters Thursday's game with a 6-1 overall record with their lone loss coming to ACC member Virginia Tech in a close game.
BULLS RUN PAST SACRED HEART
After claiming the close win on the road at Duquesne on Tuesday afternoon, the Bulls returned home on Saturday and completely dominated the Sacred Heart Pioneers in front of the home fans, 77-56. The Bulls were dominant on the glass as they owned the 57-32 edge while notching 22 second chance points on 21 offensive rebounds. Cassie Oursler led the UB charge with a career-high 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks while JoAnna Smith finished with 11 points and six rebounds in just 20 minutes of work. The win gave UB a perfect 5-0 record for the second straight season, first time in program history the Bulls have been 5-0 in back-to-back seasons.
FAMILIAR FOES
This marks the second straight season that UB and the Knights have met in the early going as the Bulls traveled down to Orlando last season and collected a 66-60 win en route to claiming the UCF Thanksgiving Tournament Championship. Stephanie Reid led the UB offense in the meeting last season as she netted 16 points, three rebounds and three assists while JoAnna Smith finished with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists and Katherine Ups netted her first career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. UB is also familiar with the current AD of the Knights, Danny White, who spent his previous three seasons in Buffalo. Head coach Felisha Legette-Jack is also familiar with UCF's head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson as they worked together at Michigan State before Abrahamson-Henderson served as Legette-Jack's associate head coach for three seasons at Indiana.
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 30-13 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 four straight home wins. The Buffalo offense is averaging 70.8 PPG while allowing just 51.0 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 27-13 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 5-0 against non-conference foes so far this season as they are winning by an average of 16.2 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 two games this season while 12 players have appeared in at least four games. Buffalo has seen 11 players net at least seven points in a game this season and they have been led in scoring by five different players in each of their five wins this season. UB has had at least eight players score in at least four of five 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 5-0 when their bench outscores their opponents bench. Buffalo is averaging 31.6 PPG from their bench players, led by Summer Hemphill who is averaging a bench-best 8.6 PPG.
SHARING MINUTES
The depth of the Bulls has been a strength all season long and it has helped UB produce five straight wins to start the season. All 13 UB players are averaging at least eight minutes of action a game while four UB players are averaging at least 20 minutes/game. The Bulls have 10 players averaging at least 10 minutes/game while JoAnna Smith went from 34.4 minutes/game last season to 27.6 minutes/game this year, helping the senior stay fresh for another late season run.
OURSLER HAS CAREER DAY IN WIN OVER PIONEERS
After netting the game-winning shot on Tuesday afternoon, junior center Cassie Oursler continued her high level of play on Saturday as she produced a career-game for the Bulls. The Grand Island, NY native netted a career-best 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks across just 20 minutes of action. Oursler finished the day going 7-for-13 from the floor and 4-for-5 from the charity stripe while dishing out the career-best three helpers. For her efforts, Oursler was named UB Athlete of the Week after averaging 14.5 points and 5.5 rebounds over two UB wins. On the season, Oursler is averaging 19.2 minutes, 10.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks while earning five starts. Dating back to last season, Oursler has scored in double figures in eight of her last 12 games while recording at least one block in 13 of 15 as she has turned into a defensive stopper inside the paint for UB.
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 scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds across just 20 minutes of work. The Southaven, MS native was able to net three triples and has now connected on at least one three pointer in 40 of her last 41 games and at least three triples in 24 of her last 41 games. With the three triples, the Southaven, MS native moved into sixth place in program history for three-pointers made in a career with 131 and sits just one triple away from fifth place on the all-time charts. Buffalo improved to 4-0 this season and 23-11 over the past two seasons when Smith scores at least 10 points in a game. She also surpassed the 900 career points plateau with her 11 point effort on Saturday as she is now at 902 career points scored in a Buffalo jersey.
FRESHMAN PHENOM
Freshman forward Summer Hemphill continued to grow and earn the trust of the UB coaching staff on Saturday afternoon against Sacred Heart as she scored five points and grabbed five rebounds in just 12 minutes of action duye to foul trouble. Hemphill was a monster on the offensive glass as she snagged four offensive rebounds that turned into eight points. The Buffalo, NY native also earned two rejections for the second straight game and recorded one steal. Through five career games, Hemphill is averaging 8.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 0.8 assists while ranking second in the MAC in field goal percentage (.692).
REID ALL ABOUT IT
After struggling to score the ball early on this season, junior point guard Stephanie Reid turned in her second straight strong game offensively on Saturday. The Australia native finished the game with 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals across 25 minutes. With her first bucket of the game, Reid went over the 500 career point plateau as she has currently scored 509 career points for UB. She also sits in 12th place on the all-time assists charts (264), just 10 helpers shy of 11th place. Despite the slow start to the season, Reid is averaging 6.6 points, 5.4 assists and 2.4 rebounds while leading the MAC in assist/turnover ratio (2.7) and being one of the best floor generals in the conference.
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. The Milpitas, CA native wasn't able to score on Saturday afternoon but she was a calming presence at the point for UB off the bench. Bade finished off her afternoon with three rebounds, three assists and two steals across 20 minutes of work as the Bulls had the game in hand and didn't need the sharpshooter to score points in bunches. The sophomore is having a career year for UB as she is averaging 20.0 minutes, 7.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.8 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 THIRD STRAIGHT START
Entering the season as a reserve hasn't slowed down the development of junior Mariah Suchan as she was awarded her third straight start of the season at power forward on Saturday. Suchan again proved to be a great defender while netting four points, five rebounds and an assist across 12 minutes. Suchan also snagged four offensive rebounds that led to six second chance points on Saturday. The junior is averaging a career-best 15.4 minutes, 4.0 points and 5.2 rebounds so far this season. Suchan has earned six career starts with the Bulls owning a 4-2 mark in those games.
MORRISON GROWING INTO BENCH ROLE
After starting the first two games of the season at forward, Sophomore Brittany Morrison is expanding her game off the bench for the Bulls over the past three wins. The undersized forward came off the bench on Saturday and put up a season-best day as she netted eight points and seven rebounds over 15 minutes of action. Morrison was active down low for UB and she grabbed six defensive rebounds to help the Bulls dominate the glass. The North Ridgeville, OH native is averaging 3.6 points and 4.6 rebounds across 14.4 minutes/game so far this season.
FULL COURT PRESS
Junior forward Courtney Wilkins entered this season with a much improved defensive game which has garnered her more playing time so far this season for the Bulls. Wilkins came off the bench and scored five points while grabbing three rebounds and a steal in 12 minutes of action Saturday as UB handed Sacred Heart the loss. The sharpshooter is now averaging 3.4 points and 2.0 rebounds across 9.2 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 game on Saturday due to foul trouble as she finished with three points, one rebound and two assists. On the year, Ups has started all five games and is averaging 6.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 steals across an average of 21.0 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 Sacred Heart on Saturday. The Bulls improved to 5-0 on the year and 22-4 over the past two seasons when winning the rebounding battle. The Bulls were able to snag a season-high 57 rebounds in the game, most in a game since 2014, including a season-best 21 offensive rebounds that turned into 22 second chance points. On the year, UB ranks fifth in the NCAA in rebounding margin (+16.8) and ninth in offensive rebounds (19.0/game).
TURNING THEM OVER
For the third straight game, UB was able to outscore their opponents off of turnovers. UB held the 20-14 edge in scoring off turnovers after forcing 13 turnovers by the Pioneers. On the year, UB is forcing an average of 17.8 turnovers/game while turning those turnovers into an average of 22.0 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 5-0 on the year after holding Sacred Heart to 55 points on Saturday. The Bulls defense was sturdy on Saturday as they held the Pioneers to 10-29 from the floor in both halfs, just 34.5% shooting for the game. The UB defense also forced 13 turnovers while holding the Pioneers to 16.7% shooting from behind the arc, a season-best performance for the Bulls. Buffalo improved to 29-7 over the last two seasons when holding their opponents under 70 points and are 12-0 when holding their opponents to scoring 50 points or less over the past two seasons.
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 10-8 edge in fast break points on Saturday as they improved to 5-0 on the year when winning this category. Over the five wins, UB owns a 49-14 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 were able to do this on Saturday as they outshot the Pioneers 43.5%-34.5% from the floor. The Bulls defense also held the Pioneers to just 16.7% shooting from behind the arc in the 21-point victory. UB is now 4-0 this season and 21-1 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 127-of-168 attempts (75.6%), 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.
