Women's Hoops Opens Up Three-Game Homestand On Wednesday Against EMU
2/16/2016 12:00:00β―AM | Women's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo women's basketball team kicks off a three-game homestand on Wednesday night as they play host to the Eastern Michigan Eagles at Alumni Arena at 7:00 pm. The Bulls enter with a 12-11 overall record and a 4-8 MAC mark while the Eagles are 15-8 overall and 6-6 in the MAC.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
The Eastern Michigan Eagles enter Wednesday night's game with a 15-8 overall record and a 6-6 MAC mark. The Eagles have won two straight conmference games as they downed Miami (OH), 70-46, on Saturday. Cha Sweeney is leading the Eagles offensive attack as she is averaging 17.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game while starting all 23 games. Janay Morton ranks second on the team in scoring (13.4 PPG) while grabbing 4.0 rebounds a game and dishing out 3.3 assists. As a team, the Eagles are averaging 72.7 points/game while allowing their opponents to score 66.1 points/game.
BULLS OPEN THREE-GAME HOMESTAND ON WEDNESDAY
After completing a two-game road swing with a 1-1 record, the Bulls return home for three-straight starting on Wednesday night at Alumni Arena. UB is coming off of an impressive 63-50 road victory over the Bowling Green Falcons on Saturday afternoon as they collected their fourth MAC win of the season. Stephanie Reid led all players with 21 points while Mirte Scheper contibuted 11 points and six boards in her second straight start at center. Wednesday night's game will be Pack Alumni Arena night at the arena as tickets will be on sale for $1.
HUGE 2ND QUARTER LEADS THE BULLS PAST BOWLING GREEN
After a slow start in Saturday afternoons matchup in Bowling Green, the Bulls heated up in the second quarter of action as they were able to score a season-high 31 points to take the 37-33 lead. Stephanie Reid decided to take over the scoring role as the second quarter hit as she drained three three-pointers en route to a career-best 14 point quarter. Reid was not the only UB player to make an impact in the quarter as Ayoleka Sodade notched four points while creating multiple turnovers on the defensive end of the court. The Bulls pulled away in the second half as the defense stepped up and allowed Bowling Green to score just 50 points. UB improved to 9-0 on the year when holding their opponents to 58 points or less.
SMITH RANKS SECOND IN THE MAC IN SCORING
Junior guard Joanna Smith was not able to get her offense going on Saturday at Bowling Green but she was still able to produce 11 points to go along with a team-best nine rebounds in the win. For her efforts last week, Smith was named MAC East Player of the Week, becoming the first UB player to earn the weekly award four times in a season since 2010-11 when Kourtney Brown earned the award five times. On the year, Smith ranks fourth in the MAC in scoring (18.3 PPG) while also ranking second on the Bulls in rebounding (5.7 RPG). She also ranks second in the MAC in scoring in conference games (20.6 PPG) and third in three-pointers made (67). The sharp-shooter currently ranks 16th in the NCAA in three-pointers/game (2.9). The Bulls are 6-6 on the year when Smith notches 20+ points and she has notched 10 games of 20+ points in her last 14 games. She now ranks sixth in program history for three-pointers made in a season (67) and 10th in career three-pointer made (86). Over her last 14 games, Smith is averaging 21.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game while playing a team-high 36.2 MPG. Smith has now recorded at least one three-pointer in all 23 games this year and 3+ three-pointers in 13 of 23 games.
REID ALL ABOUT IT
After some growing pains early in the season, sophomore point guard Stephanie Reid has been very consisent as of late. Reid took over the scoring role on Saturday afternoon as the Falcons placed all of their attention on stopping Joanna Smith and she delivered for the Bulls. Reid went over the 20-point plateau for the second time this season as she finished with a game-high 21 points on 8-for-18 from the floor. The sophomore also netted a career-high four three-pointers while dishing out four assists and grabbing two rebounds in the victory. Over her last 10 games, Reid has played at another level as she is averaging 13.8 points, 5.3 assists and 3.3 rebounds while notching over 10 points and four assists in seven of those 10 contests. Through 23 games this season, Reid has continued to prosper into one of the best point guards in the conference as she is averaging 10.7 points, 4.6 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.8 steals. The nifty point guard ranks second in the MAC in assists/game in conference games (5.2 APG) and ninth in the MAC in steals/game (1.7 SPG). Reid's impact on the game goes deeper than just points and assists as the sophomore's leadership and calmness on the court are unmatched by most point guards in the conference.
SCHEPER HAS CAREER DAY VS. BOWLING GREEN
After being replaced in the starting lineup after 11 straight starts to open up her freshman campaign, center Mirte Scheper earned back her starting role and has produced at a high level for the Bulls. The freshman has started two straight games for the Bulls and has look much more comfortable on the floor. On Saturday, Scheper produced the best game of her young career as she went 5-for-5 from the floor, scoring a career-high 11 points and grabbing six rebounds. Scheper played 27 minutes while snagging two offensive rebounds that turned into a pair of buckets for the Bulls. Scheper not only made an impact on the offensive end of the court but her defense around the bucket made it hard for the Falcons to score as they were limited to 50 points and only 22 in the paint.
LINEUP CHANGES
After going with the same lineup for the first seven games of the season, the Bulls have begun to tinker with their lineup during conference play. UB has used a total of nine different starting lineup combinations so far this season including five in the last eight games. It seems like Gabi Bade found a spot in the starting lineup as she has recorded five straight starts. Mirte Scheper earned her second straight start on Saturday and produced 11 points and six rebounds. The Lineup of Stephanie Reid, Joanna Smith, Liisa Ups, Katherine Ups and Mirte Scheper has been used the most this season, nine times in 23 games.
BENCH PLAYS KEY ROLE IN WIN
The Buffalo bench has produced in spurts this season and when they contribute the Bulls usual pull out the victory. On Saturday afternoon, the UB bench showed up and played major minutes in the win over Bowling Green as they were able to score 18 points. Brittany Morrison came in and played 13 minutes and produced five points and four rebounds while Mariah Suchan provided a huge spark with four points and six boards. Freshman Ayoleka Sodade had one of her best games of her young career as she brough loads of energy on the defensive end of the court and finished with four points, three rebounds and two assists in 15 minutes. Senior Karin Moss played a bench-high 19 minutes and finished with four points, four rebounds and three helpers. The UB bench is averaging 15.4 points/game so far this season with a season-high of 30 points against Duquesne.
BATTLE ON THE BOARDS
The Bulls have proved throughout this season that winning the battle on the boards was a key to winning games. They proved this once again on Saturday as they completely dominated the Falcons on the boards, 50-26, and won the game by 13. The Bulls are currently 10-3 on the year when winning the rebounding battle or being tied in rebounds and 2-8 when they are outrebounded. UB is averaging 39.0 RPG including 13.7 offensive boards/game. In MAC play, the Bulls rank second in the conference in offensive RPG (14.4). Joanna Smith and Cassie Oursler have combined to grab 12.4 RPG so far this season as the teams top two rebounders.
HOLDING STRONG
One key factor to success for the Bulls has been earning the lead before the fourth quarter begins and UB has been pretty successful with that so far. When UB holds the lead heading into the final 10 minutes, they hold a 11-2 record, with their last victory coming on Saturday at Bowling Green. If the Bulls are trailing as they enter the final quarter, they own a 1-9 record with their lone come-from-behind fourth quarter victory coming against Central Florida, when they were down two heading into the fourth. When the Bulls are leading with five minutes to go, they own a 11-1 record on the year as they have proved they can close out games down the stretch.
SHOOTIN' FOR THE STARS
One of the keys to every game is shooting a high percentage from the floor and the Bulls have proved that winning the field goal percentage battle will win you games. The Bulls have shot a higher percentage from the floor than their opponents in 13 of 23 games, winning 12 of the 13 games in which they shot a higher percentage. Last time out the Bulls proved this theory to be true as they outshot the Bowling Green Falcons and picked up the 13-point win. On the year, the Bulls are shooting 36.6% from the floor while their opponents are shooting 37.4%.
COACH JACK EARNS 200TH CAREER COACHING VICTORY
After waiting five games to earn her 200th career head coaching victory, Felisha Legette-Jack earned the milestone win with a upset of the first-place team in the MAC on Wednesday, January 3. Coach Jack led the Bulls to the 51-43 win as her strong defensive strategy held the Bobcats to 27.8% shooting. Coach Jack has collected 200 wins for three different programs over her 14-year coaching career. She earned 54 wins for Hofstra, 87 wins for Indiana and she has collected 59 wins at UB. She has earned 10+ wins in 11 of her 14 seasons as a head coach with a career-high 21 victories coming in 2008-09 while at Indiana.
