University at Buffalo
17-13 (8-10MAC)
Bowling Green
10-18 (6-12MAC)
Bulls Are Headed To Cleveland; Defeat Bowling Green In Opening Round To Earn Quarterfinals Trip
3/7/2016 12:00:00β―AM | Women's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo women's basketball team advanced to their fourth straight Mid-American Conference quarterfinal game with a dominant 60-44 victory over the Bowling Green Falcons on Monday night in the opening round at Alumni Arena. With the win, the Bulls improved to 17-13 overall on the season, giving the Bulls at least 17 wins in three straight seasons under head coach Felisha Legette-Jack.
"We are heading into a new season, the postseason, with Stephanie and Joanna leading us," said head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. "Our two leaders have been consistent all season long and when others didn't believe or didn't know how to believe, these two stepped up. My hope is that we go out to Cleveland and get to stay long enough to show the country how special Stephanie and Joanna are and how lucky I am to coach them."
The Bulls came out flying on Monday in front of their home fans as Joanna Smith hit back-to-back three's to open the scoring for the Bulls before Katherine Ups hit another three and Cassie Oursler nailed a jumper to give UB the dominant 11-2 lead five minutes in. After the Falcons cut the UB lead to six, the Bulls went on a quick 6-0 spurt to extend their lead to a quarter-high 12 points behind layups from Oursler and Stephanie Reid and a jumper from Smith. The Falcons closed out the quarter with a pair of free throws to cut the UB lead t0 10, 20-10, after 10 minutes of play.
UB was able to open the second quarter on a 6-0 run powered by a pair of Mariah Suchan layups before Bowling Green was able to net their first bucket of the quarter over two minutes in. After some back-and-forth play, junior Camera Miley came off the bench and hit a three-pointer to give the Bulls their biggest lead of the half, 33-17. The Falcons were able to end the half with two free throws to cut into the UB lead as the Bulls went into the locker room leading 35-22.
The Bulls were able to put the game away in the third quarter after the Falcons opened up the scoring with a three-pointer that cut UB's lead down to 10. The Bulls responded quickly and went on a 14-0 run over the next 8:14 of the game, not allowing another bucket until the final minute of the third quarter. Reid finished off the third quarter with an acrobatic layup over two players to give the Bulls the 51-29 lead heading into the fourth. The Bulls were able to outscore Bowling Green 16-7 in the quarter.
With the game in hand heading into the fourth quarter, the Bulls and Falcons exchanged buckets early on in the quarter. After UB took the 21-point lead on a Mirte Scheper layup, the Falcons went on a quick 8-0 spurt to cut the UB lead down to 13. The Bulls finished strong as Courtney Wilkins drilled a three-pointer with under a minute remaining to give the Bulls the 16-point victory, 60-44.
After being named first team All-MAC earlier in the day, junior Joanna Smith proved to Bowling Green that she deserved that honor as she finished with a game-high 16 points and eight rebounds in the victory. Oursler had another strong game as she finished with 10 points, seven boards, three blocks, a career-high three steals and a career-high two assists. Brittany Morrison continued to be strong on the glass as she grabbed a team-high eight rebounds to go along with four points. Reid continued her strong point guard play as she netted eight points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals in the first round win. Off the bench, Mariah Suchan finished with six points and five boards while Karin Moss had four assists and two rebounds.
For the fifth time in their last six games, the Bulls won the rebounding battle, 48-32. The five games UB won the rebounding battle they won the game. UB also won the turnover battle 16-12 while improving to 15-1 this season when shooting a higher percentage of the field than their opponents, winning the field goal battle 38.2% to 25.5%.
The Bulls also controlled all the specialty stats categories as they held the 26-10 edge in points in the paint, the 19-8 edge in points off turnovers, the 10-3 edge in second chance points and the dominant 12-0 edge in fast break points.
The Bulls will return to the hardwood on Wednesday at 12:00 pm as they will take on the top-seeded Ohio Bobcats in the MAC quarterfinals. The game will be played at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH. The Bulls have handed the Bobcats their only two conference losses on the year, holding the high-scoring team to an average of 50.5 PPG in the two UB victories.
