Bulls Welcome Ball State To Alumni Arena On Saturday For Military Appreciation Day
2/5/2016 12:00:00β―AM | Women's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo, The State University of New York women's basketball team (11-9, 3-6 MAC) hosts Ball State on Saturday at 1:00 pm in the first game of a doubleheader at Alumni Arena. Saturday will also be Military Appreciation Day.
Scouting the Cardinals
The Ball State Cardinals enter Saturday's game with a 15-5 overall record and a 7-2 MAC mark. The Cardinals are coming off of a 78-71 victory at home against the Akron Zips and they have won six of their last seven MAC games. Offensively Ball State is led by senior Nathalie Fontaine who is second in the MAC in scoring (21.0 PPG) while also ranking third in the conference in rebound (9.6 RPG). Jill Morrison ranks second on the team in scoring as she averages 12.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game while Moriah Monaco is averaging 10.7 points and 4.5 rebounds. As a team, Ball State is averaging 71.7 points while allowing 60.7 a game.
All-Time series vs. Ball State
The Cardinals own the 14-8 record against the Bulls in the all-time series. The Bulls have had the better of the matchups as of late, owning a 5-3 record against the Cardinals in their last eight meetings but Ball State came out on top earlier this season in Muncie, 68-63.
Bulls host ball state on military appreciation day
Coming off of their biggest win of the season, the UB women's hoops team will play host to the Ball State Cardinals on Saturday afternoon at 1pm. The game will be the first game of the doubleheader with the men's hoops team and will be Military Appreciation Day at Alumni Arena. Ball State enters with a 15-5 overall record and a 7-2 MAC mark as they have won six of their last seven conference games. This will be the Bulls second-straight home game and they will close the regular season with four of six at Alumni Arena.
Bulls stun first-place ohio
Last time out the Bulls picked up their biggest win of the season as they were able to snap first-place Ohio's 12-game winning streak and hand them their first MAC loss of the season. The UB defense was the story of the game as they held the Bobcats to 27.8% shooting from the floor and a season-low 43 points. The Bulls defense was able to bother Ohio leading scorer Kiyanna Black all game long as she finished the game going just 4-for-21 on the game, a season-worst performance. Offensively, the Bulls were led by Joanna Smith who netted 16 points and grabbed five boards while Karin Moss came off the bench and scored 11 points and four rebounds in 23 minutes of action.
Coach jack earns 200th career 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 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.
Joanna Smith continues to lead the offense
Junior guard Joanna Smith continued to prove that she is the best scorer in the Mid-American Conference as she netted 16 points in Wednesday's win over Ohio. Smith went head-to-head with the fourth leading scorer in the conference, Kiyanna Black, and outplayed her all game long as she finished going 7-for-15 from the floor and 2-for-5 from behind the arc. Smith also grabbed five boards, two assists and two steals in the win. On the year, Smith ranks third in the MAC in scoring (18.5 PPG) while also ranking second on the Bulls in rebounding (5.8 RPG). She also leads the MAC in scoring in conference games (21.7 PPG) and second in three-pointers made (60). The Bulls are 6-4 on the year when Smith notches 20+ points and she has notched eight 20+ point scoring games in her last 11 games. She now ranks seventh in program history for three-pointers made in a season (60) and 10th in career three-pointer made (79). Over her last 11 games, Smith is averaging 22.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game while playing a team-high 36.1 MPG. Smith has been named MAC East Player of the Week three times so far this season, becoming the first UB player since Kourtney Brown in 2010-11 to win the conference weekly award at least three times in a season.
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 a back seat to Joanna Smith on Saturday as she finished with just six points, five assists and three rebounds. Over her last seven games, Reid has played at another level as she is averaging 13.7 points, 5.0 assists and 3.1 rebounds while notching over 10 points in five of those seven contests. Through 20 games this season, Reid has continued to prosper into one of the best point guards in the conference as she is averaging 10.2 points, 4.4 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals. The nifty defender ranks fourth in the MAC in steals/game in MAC play (2.1 SPG) and third in assists/game (4.9). 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.
Ups, Ups and away
After struggling a little bit over the past month of conference play, sophomore Katherine Ups has put together back-to-back solid efforts for the Bulls. The sophomore netted 10 points against Northern Illinois before snagging a game-high 10 rebounds and four points last time out in the Bulls win over Ohio. On the year, the sophomore is averaging 6.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists while starting 18 of 20 games for the Bulls.
Moss brings energy off bench
Their is no hiding the fact that the Bulls were going to need someone other than Joanna Smith to step up to take down the Ohio Bobcats on Wednesday night and Karin Moss was that person. Moss came off the bench with great energy and produced 11 points on 4-for-9 from the floor to go along with four rebounds, two assists and two steals as the Bulls snapped the Bobcats 12-game winning streak. Moss finished the game with 23 minutes of action, tied for the most all season. The lone senior has provided UB with 3.4 PPG, 1.9 RPG and 1.6 APG through 19 games of action.
Getting to the charity stripe
Early in the season, the Bulls really struggled with attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line but it has become a point of emphasis for UB over their last eight games. The Bulls have been more aggressive towards the basket and drawing more foul calls as they are making an average of 12.5 free throws per game over their last eight. Stephanie Reid leads the Bulls in free throw shooting as she has gotten to the line a team-high 72 times, converting on 60-of-72 (83.3%). UB got to the free throw line a season-high 31 times against Kent State, their lone win in the last six games.
Battle of the boards
The Bulls have proved throughout this season that winning the battle on the boards was a key to winning games. This theory proved to be true on Saturday as the Bulls finally won the rebounding battle, 37-33, over the Bobcats and picked up the conference victory. The Bulls are currently 9-3 on the year when winning the rebounding battle or being tied in rebounds and 2-6 when they are outrebounded. UB is averaging 39.2 RPG including 13.8 offensive boards/game. In MAC play, the Bulls rank second in the conference in offensive RPG (15.9). Joanna Smith and Cassie Oursler have combined to grab 12.7 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 10-1 record, with their lone loss coming to NIU. If the Bulls are trailing as they enter the final quarter, they own a 1-8 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 the same 10-1 record on the year.
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 seven different starting lineup combinations so far this season including four in the last five games. Freshman Gabi Bade has earned the start in two straight games for the Bulls. The Lineup of Stephanie Reid, Joanna Smith, Liisa Ups, Katherine Ups and Mirte Scheper has been used the most this season, nine times in 20 games.
Shooting 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 11 of 20 games, winning all 11 games in which they shot a higher percentage. Last time out the Bulls shot 42.6% in the win while the Bobcats shot 27.8%. UB is shooting 36.0% from the floor while holding their opponents to 37.2% shooting on the year.
