Women's Hoops Set For NCAA Tournament First Round Action Against Ohio State
3/17/2016 12:00:00β―AM | Women's Basketball
COLUMBUS, OH - They did it. The University at Buffalo women's basketball team is competing in the program's first ever NCAA tournament Friday at 2:30 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio. The game versus the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes on their home court will air nationally on ESPN2.
"We just need to show our heart," sophomore captain Stephanie Reid said of playing in front of a national audience. "We want to show our story. We want to tell people where we've been. We're going to do that through how hard we play. We're going to get after every single 50-50 ball. Every possession we're going to fight. We're not going to go down easily."
"We're excited to be out there, to be part of the 64," head coach Felisha Legette-Jack, who is making the first NCAA tournament appearance of her career, said. "There's 300 and what, 98 Division I schools? And we're one of 64. That's overwhelming in and of itself. And to go somewhere close to home where our Buffalonians can drive and come see us play -- that's pretty cool."
After winning the Mid-American Conference postseason title (another program first), the Bulls were selected as the 14th seed. Their matchup with Ohio State will be the first in team history. The Buckeye State is familiar territory for the Bulls who play their eighth in-state opponent in the NCAA first round. They're 6-3 in the state this season including the MAC tournament.
Buffalo, who was once 3-8 in MAC play and finished 8-10 in the regular season, went from the 8th seed for the conference postseason tournament to champions with four straight wins over Bowling Green to get them to Cleveland for the fourth straight year, regular season champion Ohio to go 3-0 against the Bobcats, Akron in an 88-87 shootout to break a two-game losing streak to the Zips, and Central Michigan with a Stephanie Reid bank shot at the buzzer of the first overtime. It was the kind of tournament run that got other, unaffiliated fans in attendance at Quicken Loans Arena on their side.
The week is no doubt historical with the Bulls achieving two major milestones plus their first 20-win season of the MAC era since the 1998-99 season, but it was also the madness basketball fans see in March. This team, which so many overlooked, evidenced by the preseason coaches' poll which tabbed them to finish tied for sixth in the MAC East, has put the pieces together at the most opportune time to carry itself to new and exciting places.
In NCAA women's basketball tournament history a 14 seed has never upset a three seed (0-84). The Bulls will try to change that Friday against an Ohio State team ranked No. 9 in the country in the final Associated Press poll.
What a Week it Was
Buffalo was not guaranteed to even get to Cleveland after the regular season ended; but they ended up champions of the MAC tournament for the first time ever.
After a 60-44, never-in-doubt win over the ninth-seeded Bowling Green Falcons at Alumni Arena March 7, it was clear the Bulls wanted to dismantle expectations for the tournament where Ohio was predicted to once against repeat as champion. The Bulls would earn another matchup with the team that went 16-2 in MAC play, their only two losses coming to UB. Despite everything on the line including a second straight NCAA tournament berth, Buffalo made it three straight against the Bobcats, 72-60, at The Q.
The Bulls weren't done after knocking off the top seed. They took down Akron, 88-87 (a season-high scoring output), after going 0-2 against the Zips this season. Point guard Stephanie Reid fouled out less than midway through the third quarter and freshmen Gabi Bade and Ayoleka Sodade had the most critical impact -- the former with 13 points in 17 second half minutes; the latter with the eventual game-winning basket with five seconds left.
Then came the title game -- the fifth for UB in seven days -- which they needed overtime to win, 73-71, over the Central Michigan Chippewas. Reid's fall away, bank shot bucket at the buzzer has aired nationally.
"We have a team where the players don't care who gets the recognition," sophomore Katherine Ups said, "who will do the dirty work -- the defense during the middle of the game, those rebounds that Mariah (Suchan) and Leka got in the semifinals and the finals and things like that that don't get the recognition but are really what got us here in the end and allowed Steph to take that shot at the buzzer to win us the game."
Junior Joanna Smith, who was named to the All-MAC first team, set a MAC tournament record with 33 three-point field goal attempts. She finished ranking third in made baskets (30) and three-pointers (12) and fifth with 76 points. Reid's 12 assists in the championship game rank second in MAC tournament history for a single game. She had only one turnover.
Defense Comes Together
UB is allowing fewer than 60 points per game this season and that's exactly where they want to be. The Bulls are 10-2 when allowing 59 points and less; however, the MAC tournament showed that Buffalo could compete outside of their comfort zone, allowing 60, 87 and 71 points in the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship game while scoring 72, 88 and 73 apiece.
"People need to realize that we're a force to be reckoned with," junior Cassie Oursler said of NCAA tournament viewers new to the brand of Bulls' basketball. "They need to pay attention to our defense. The defensive strategy that we have is something I think any team is going to have some struggles with. Obviously (Ohio State) is a great team but we have a lot of talent to bring to the table."
Scouting the Buckeyes
Ohio State is an offensive juggernaut ranking third in the nation with nearly 87 points per game. Kelsey Mitchell, the fourth highest scorer in the country, is a top five finisher for the Nancy Lieberman Award which is given to the nation's top point guard. She's averaging almost 26 points per game on 46 percent shooting while leading the team in steals (54) and ranking second in assists (102). Ameryst Alston (18.6), Shayla Cooper (13.3) and Alexa Hart (11.4) all average double figures for the extremely quick-paced Buckeyes.
"Sometimes when Ohio State is forced to slow down, they get frustrated," Legette-Jack said. "We're not going fast -- whether we have to get a 10-second call or a 30-second clock violation -- they're going to have to take it from us. We're going to go at our pace and I think if we slow them down just a tad bit, it will be in our favor."
The Buckeyes, who are hosting the first and second round matchups, are 14-1 at home this season. The winner will face the winner of Princeton-West Virginia on Sunday.
Tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 pm Friday in Columbus. Join me, Sloane Martin, for a special one-hour pregame show starting at 1:30 on ESPN 1520 and streaming online.
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