Women's Hoops Looks For Season Sweep Of Bobcats On The Road Saturday
2/26/2016 12:00:00β―AM | Women's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo women's basketball team, coming off a critical win with Mid-American Conference postseason seeding implications, heads to Athens, Ohio to face the first-place Ohio University Bobcats Saturday at 1:00 pm.
UB has won three of the past four games and two in a row and now holds sole possession of eighth place in the MAC standings. If they hold on in the final three games of the regular season to that spot, they will host a first-round MAC postseason game at Alumni Arena. Since the Bulls want to host instead of travel for that matchup, continuing to win down the stretch is critical.
Buffalo most recently defeated the Bowling Green Falcons Wednesday at Alumni Arena, 55-52, to take over the eighth spot in the standings and win the tiebreaker versus the Falcons with a 2-0 regular season record against them.
It was a fill-the-stat-sheet night for point guard Stephanie Reid who scored 14 points to go along with six assists, four rebounds and two steals. She scored a layup to tie the game very late and then took a charge the next BG possession which eventually set up the game-winner. Joanna Smith added 10 points on 4-for-15 shooting, and while she was held without a three-pointer for the first time this season, she scored what turned out to be the game-winning shot with less than a minute and a half to play with a strong drive and muscled-up floater in the middle of the paint.
Buffalo came out on top despite 12 ties and 13 lead changes. They were outshot 43 to 33 percent but outrebounded BGSU 43 to 27. The defense forced 21 turnovers and swiped nine steals.
Defense
In the early part of the season the Bulls featured a top-50 ranked defense (per points allowed) that propelled them to one of the best starts in program history. That same defense has reemerged the last four games to allow 55, 39 and 52 points the last three games apiece. In a stacked and talented conference, UB's defensive numbers slipped to begin the MAC portion of the season, but they've rebounded to sit fourth in points allowed against MAC opponents (63.5). The 39 point output by Miami last week was the second lowest points total the Bulls have allowed this season; LIU-Brooklyn put up 38 in the season opener.
'All O-Board'
Offensive rebounding has been a significant part of Bulls' wins. Against Bowling Green most recently UB pulled down 17 (compared to the Falcons' two). They lead the MAC in both offensive boards per game (16.1) and offensive rebound percentage (37.8).
It's not enough to just get offensive rebounds -- it's what the team does with the additional opportunity. In the BG win the Bulls turned those o-boards into 19 second chance points.
Last Time Out
Buffalo Saturday takes on Ohio for the second time this season. After losing three straight to the Bobcats last year including in the MAC semifinals at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, the Bulls handed Ohio their first -- and still only -- conference loss of the season at Alumni Arena on Feb. 3.
The win ended the Bulls' five-game losing streak to close out the month of January and it couldn't have been a more emphatic victory. UB held the previously undefeated Bobcats to just 43 points on 27 percent shooting, keeping them off-balance and uncomfortable for 40 minutes to earn the nine-point win, 51-43. The win was also No. 200 for head coach Felisha Legette-Jack's career.
The Bulls led by three at the start of the second half, 24-21, before padding the cushion to nine points three minutes later. Senior Karin Moss went 3-for-4 from the floor in the third quarter in just five minutes. The Bobcats made it a two-possession game early in the third, but the Bulls responded, thanks to back-to-back three's from Courtney Wilkins off the bench to extend the lead to 11. The defense held Ohio to just 4-for-13 shooting in the final 10 minutes.
Smith led all scorers with 16 points with five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Moss was crucial off the bench providing 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Scouting the Bobcats
Ohio clinched the MAC East with a 101-73 win over Akron on Feb. 20 and it owns a two game lead over second place Central Michigan as they chase a second straight MAC regular season title. The Bobcats took both the regular season and postseason championships and advanced to the NCAA tournament as the MAC's representative in the 2014-15 season.
The Bobcats rank first in the MAC in nine major statistical categories including scoring offense (77.1), scoring defense (59.1), blocked shots (5.4), and 3-point field goals made (11.1). They rank 35th in RPI and are winning MAC games by an average of 18 points per game.
Leading scorer Kiyanna Black is pouring in 19.4 points on average against the MAC while hitting four three-pointers a game on 35 percent shooting. Quiera Lampkins is the team's second leading scorer at 14.1 points, ranks third in rebounds at 5.1 and is the top distributor.
Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 pm Saturday in Athens, Ohio. Join me, Sloane Martin, for the tip on ESPN 1520 and streaming online.
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