University at Buffalo
18-13
Ohio
24-6
Women's Hoops Stuns Top-Seeded Ohio, 72-60; Advances To Second Straight MAC Semifinal
3/9/2016 12:00:00β―AM | Women's Basketball
Joanna Smith Post Game Interview
Stephanie Reid Post Game Interview
Karin Moss Post Game Interview
CLEVELAND, OH – The University at Buffalo women's basketball team used suffocating defense and timely scoring to earn their second straight, and third overall, trip to the Mid-American Conference Semifinals on Wednesday afternoon. The Bulls collected a 72-60 victory over top-seeded Ohio on Wednesday afternoon at the Quicken Loans Arena in the MAC Quarterfinals behind a game-high 19 points from Joanna Smith. UB will now take on MAC East foe Akron in the MAC Semifinal on Friday at 12:00 pm at the Quicken Loans Arena.
"We played against a really good Ohio team today," said head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. "Our hope is that we have built our confidence strong enough for everyone to realize that there is more than one team that can make it to the dance. Today our players decided that their story mattered and that their time is now. We decided that if anyone was going to beat us they were going to have to take it."
With the win, the Bulls earned a season-sweep of the Bobcats, handing them all three of their conference losses on the season. The Bulls improve to 18-13 on the year, winning at least 18 games in consecutive seasons for just the second time in program history.
After trailing at halftime by one and regaining the lead towards the end of the third quarter, the Bulls put the pressure on in the fourth quarter and put the game away. The Bulls were able to outscore the Bobcats 20-13 in the final quarter behind great defense and solid play from Cassie Oursler inside. Grand Island native dominated down the stretch as she netted 10 points and five rebounds in the quarter, leading to the Bulls 12-point victory.
"We were relentless on defense and took great shots this afternoon," said Felisha Legette-Jack. "When we did make mistakes, we made sure to get back on defense and play hard which led us to victory today."
The UB defense came out strong on Wednesday afternoon against the high-scoring Ohio Bobcats as Oursler opened the game with a huge block, leading to a free throw from Brittany Morrison for the games first point. With the game tied, 3-3, the Bulls used a 7-0 run to take the 10-3 lead as Smith scored five straight and Morrison finished off a layup. After five quick points from the Bobcats, Stephanie Reid and Oursler made layups to give the Bulls the 14-10 lead after 10 minutes.
The Bobcats took over control early in the second quarter as they opened the second on a 14-2 run that gave them the 24-17 lead. The Bulls responded quickly with a 6-0 spurt of their own to bring them within one, as Katherine Ups made a layup and Karin Moss recorded a steal that turned into a pair of free throws. Trailing by five with under a minute to play in the half, Moss drilled a jumper and then Courtney Wilkins blocked a Kiyanna Black shot that turned into a Reid layup off of a moss pass to make the halftime score 29-28 in favor of the Bobcats.
The two sides came out exchanging buckets in the third quarter as Smith tied the score at 36 after a nice feed from Katherine Ups. Ohio was able to take the 43-38 lead with three minutes remaining in the quarter but the Bulls were able to finish off the quarter on a 14-4 run to take the five-point lead into the fourth. Katherine Ups and Smith drilled back-to-back three's to propel the Bulls to the lead entering the final 10 minutes.
The Bobcats were not able to get any closer than two points early in the fourth, before Moss and the UB defense stepped up and shut the Bobcats down. The Bulls were able to improve to 17-2 on the year when taking the lead into the final quarter and 16-1 when shooting a higher field goal percentage than their opponents.
Smith led the Bulls in scoring on Wednesday afternoon after she finished off her strong afternoon with her third double-double of the season as she finished with a game-high 19 points and 10 rebounds on 7-for-17 from the floor. Smith also netted a pair of three-pointers, as she now has at least one three-pointer made in all 31 games this season.
Reid continued to grow as the Bulls floor general as she finished off her afternoon with 16 points, four assists, three rebounds and two assists while playing great defense on one of the best players in the MAC, Kiyanna Black. Oursler finished the game strong as she had 15 points and five rebounds while going 5-for-6 from the floor in the win.
Off the bench, Moss had one of her best games of the season as she was all over the floor. The senior captain finished with eight points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals in 21 minutes of action. Katherine Ups finished her day with seven points and six rebounds as the Bulls collected their 18th win of the season.
As a team, the Bulls won the rebounding battle 36-31 while outscoring the Bobcats 38-24 in the paint. The UB defense held Ohio to 38.5% shooting for the game while UB was able to shoot 43.1% for the game. The Bulls forced 13 Ohio turnovers that turned into 18 UB points on Wednesday.
The Bulls return to the Quicken Loans Arena on Friday at noon as they will take on the Akron Zips in the MAC Semifinals.
