Bulls Welcome Ball State To Alumni Arena On Wednesday Night Looking For Fourth Straight Win
1/24/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo women's basketball team (14-4, 4-3 MAC) looks for their fourth straight Mid-American Conference victory on Wednesday night as they welcome the Ball State Cardinals (13-6, 6-1 MAC) to Alumni Arena. Tip is set for 7:00 pm on Wednesday as the Bulls are looking to improve to 10-1 at Alumni Arena this season.
The game will air live on ESPN3 with Paul Peck and Amy Audibert on the call and can be heard on ESPN 1520AM starting at 6:30 pm as Matt Mattia gets you ready for the action with the pregame show inside Alumni Arena.
BULLS SHOOT FOR 4TH STRAIGHT WIN ON WEDNESDAY
Coming off their third straight conference win on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Arena, the Bulls will set their sights on their fourth straight as Ball State comes to town. The Bulls and Cardinals will clash at 7:00 pm and the game will air live on ESPN3 with Paul Peck and Amy Audibert on the call. The current three-game winning streak for the Bulls moved their conference mark to 4-3 overall as the Bulls sit in second place in the MAC east with 11 games to play.
UB GETS REVENGE WIN OVER CENTRAL MICHIGAN
The Bulls were able to collect one of their biggest wins of the season at Alumni Arena on Saturday afternoon as they avenged a loss to the Central Michigan Chippewas with the 67-56 win. The win for UB was their third straight as they improved to 4-3 in MAC play. Senior JoAnna Smith played her best game of the season as she netted 29 points, moving into 15th place on the Bulls all-time scoring charts. The freshmen duo of Theresa Onwuka and SUmmer Hemphill continued their strong play as Onwuka netted 14 points and four rebounds while Hemphill finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. Junior Stephanie Reid had a great game running the point as she tied a career-high with 12 assists. The Bulls were also able to score 24 points off of CMU turnovers on the day.
FAMILIAR FOE
This marks the 24th meeting between the two program's in history with the Cardinals owning the 15-8 record against the Bulls. The Bulls are 5-4 over their last nine against the Cardinals but Ball State was able to hand UB a pair of losses last season including a 59-57 defeat at Alumni Arena on Feb. 6, 2016.
CLEANING THE GLASS
One of the keys to the Bulls success this season has been winning the battle on the boards. UB was able to do this once again on Saturday afternoon as they outrebounded the Chippewas 40-39. UB is now 13-4 on the year and 30-8 over the past two seasons when winning or tying the rebounding battle. As a team, UB ranks 1st in the MAC and 13th in the NCAA in rebounds per game (44.1/game).
BULLS RANK 9TH IN NATION IN OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING
Buffalo has been getting after the offensive glass all season long and this continued on Saturday in the win over Central Michigan. The Bulls were able to snag 13 offensive rebounds and they turned those into 13 second chance points in the win. UB has now won the offensive rebounding battle in 15 of their 18 games this season. On the year, UB ranks 9th in the NCAA in offensive rebounds (17.4/game) and 9th in rebound margin (+10.2). UB is also averaging 14.2 second chance points/game so far this season while holding their opponents to an average of 7.7/game.
SMITH CONTINUES TO RISE ALL-TIME SCORING CHARTS
After becoming just the 23rd player in UB history to notch their 1,000th point at Ohio earlier this season, senior JoAnna Smith continued to score the basketball on Saturday afternoon as she led UB in scoring with a season-high 29 points. With her 29-point effort, Smith moved into 15th place on the all-time scoring charts and she sits just nine points shy of 13th place. Smith also moved into a tie for 3rd place on UB's all-time three pointers made charts as she has connected on 161 through 107 career games.
SHOOTING FOR THE STARS
One of the keys to success for the Bulls over the past couple of seasons under head coach Felisha Legette-Jack has been shooting a better percentage from the floor than their opponents. The Bulls were able to record a higher shooting percentage as they shot 42.1% to 32.2% for the game and downed the Chippewas. UB is now 11-0 this season and 28-1 over the past two seasons when shooting a higher percentage from the floor than their opponents.
STARTERS CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD
Early on this season, the Buffalo bench was putting up huge offensive numbers as they Bulls were able to play all 13 players in at least five games. As of late, the UB starting lineup has proved to be a scoring threat and this continued on Saturday as the starting five scored a season-high 64 points. Over the past five MAC games, the UB starting lineup is averaging 56.0 points/game.
DOMINATE THE PAINT
Playing for a coach that dominated the paint throughout her very successful career, the talented Bulls have begun to take a page out of their coaches book as they have won the battle in the paint in 13 of their 18 games this season. UB was outscored inside the paint on Saturday as CMU held the slim 26-22 edge. The Bulls are 13-0 on the year when winning the battle in the paint as they are averaging 30.8 points while limiting opponents to just 23.6 points inside the paint.
RUNNING WITH THE BULLS
The Bulls haven't been known to be a team that likes to get out on the fast break and run but that trend has begun to change this season with the addition of some athletic and talented freshman. The Bulls continued to dominate this category on Saturday as they held the 10-2 edge in fast break scoring. On the season, UB owns the 157-53 edge in fast break scoring and are 13-2 when winning the fast break category. UB has won the fast break category in six of their last seven wins including their last three wins.
PROTECTING THE THREE POINT LINE
The Bulls have turned into one of the best three point defense teams in the country as of late. UB ranks 1st in the MAC and are tied for 30th in the NCAA in three point defense as they are allowing their opponents to shoot just 27.6% from behind the arc. Last time out, the Bulls limited the MAC's best three point shooting team to just 1-for-15 from deep. Through seven MAC games, the Buffalo defense leads the MAC by holding its opponents to just 23.9% shooting from behind the arc as they are allowing just an average of just 3.9 makes/game.
NO SECOND CHANCES
The Bulls have turned into one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the nation while also limiting their opponents to limited second chance opportunities. Over their last 11 games, the Bulls have limited their opponents to an average of 6.8 second chance points. Buffalo has held 14 opponents and 11 of their last 12, to 10 second chance points or less this season. The rebounding effort by the Bulls has been impressive as they are limiting their last 11 opponents to just 9.1 offensive rebounds/game while averaging 17.4 themselves.
DEFENSE CONTINUES TO TIGHTEN UP
The strength of the Bulls over the past two seasons has been their defense and that strong defense has helped UB gather a 14-4 record to start the season. The Buffalo defense had one of their best performances of the season on Saturday as they were able to hold the high scoring Central Michigan Chippewas to just 56 points, 20 points under their season average. UB was able to hold the Chippewas to just 32.2% shooting for the game and limited the MAC's leading scorer Presley Hudson to just eight points. Hudson was averaging 30.3 points through her first six MAC games. The Bulls rank 1st in the MAC in scoring defense as they are allowing just 58.9 points/game. Buffalo is 37-7 over the last two seasons when holding their opponents under 70 points and are 16-0 when holding their opponents to scoring 50 points or less over the past two seasons. UB is also 11-0 this season when holding their opponents to 59 points or less.
NOT YOUR AVERAGE JO
Senior leading scorer JoAnna Smith continued her upward swing in MAC games on Saturday in the win over CMU as she netted a season-high 29 points. The Southaven, MS native finished the game going 11-for-25 from the floor and 4-for-13 from behind the arc as she has now connected on at least one three pointer in 52 of her last 54 games and at least three triples in 28 of her last 54 games. Smith moved into a tie for third place on the all-time three pointers made list with 161 makes in her career as she has proved to be one of the most dangerous deep range shooters in program history. Buffalo is 12-3 this season and 31-14 over the past two seasons when Smith scores at least 10 points in a game. On the season, Smith is averaging a team-best 15.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists and 1.6 steals while leading UB in scoring 10 times. The captain has surpassed the 20-point plateau five times this season including three times in her past six games for the Bulls. In MAC play, Smith ranks 5th in the conference in scoring as she is averaging 19.4 points while ranking sixth in three pointers made with 19.
REID ALL ABOUT IT
Junior point guard Stephanie Reid turned into a great facilitator on Saturday afternoon as she tied her career-high with 12 assists in the win over Central Michigan. Reid only netted three points but recorded 12 assists against the Chippewas for the second time in her career. She has recorded at least eight helpers in seven of her last 11 games for the Bulls and at least 10 assists in four of her last eight contests. Reid currently sits in 7th place on the all-time assist chart with 358 career helpers and she is now just two shy of 6th place (Margeaux Gupilan) on the all-time charts. The junior has reached double figures in scoring nine times in her last 15 games. Reid has recorded at least one steal in 15 of 18 games and has notched multi-steal games nine times. Behind her recent strong play, Reid is averaging 8.7 points, 6.7 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals while ranking first in the MAC in assist/turnover ratio (3.0) and third in assists (6.7 APG). Through seven MAC games, Reid is tied for 1st in the MAC in assists per game (7.6/game).
ONWUKA GROWING INTO IMPORTANT SCORING THREAT
Freshman Theresa Onwuka has continued to improve and earn the trust of the UB coaching staff through 18 games this season. The lengthy guard earned her fifth straight start on Saturday afternoon and proved to be an improtant scorer for the Bulls as she netted 14 points, four rebounds and two assists in the win. The freshman has now went over the 20 minutes played mark seven times in her last eight games. On the year, the Nigeria native is averaging 16.9 MPG, 6.4 PPG, 3.5 RPG and 0.9 SPG through 18 career games. She has scored in double figures in six of the seven MAC games as she ranks second on the team averaging 11.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.1 steals against MAC foes.
HEMPHILL BLOSSOMING INTO A STAR
Freshman forward Summer Hemphill has shown flashes of greatness through her first 18 games and because of those flashes she was awarded with her fifth straight start on Saturday afternoon. The Buffalo native didn't disappoint the home fans as she was able to produce 10 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block. Hemphill went 3-for-6 from the floor and currently ranks third in the MAC in field goal percentage (57.3%). The freshman continues to cause problems for opposing teams with her length at the top of the Buffalo press while also settling in defensively as she has notched at least one block in 15 straight games and has recorded at least one steal in 13 of 18 games. She has also notched two blocks in seven of her last 15 games as her quick leaping ability has caused problems for opposing bigs. Through 18 career games, Hemphill is averaging 7.7 points, a team-high 7.6 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.3 blocks while notching double digit rebounds a team-best three times this season. Her 2.9 offensive rebounds/game ranks 6th in the MAC so far this season. Through seven MAC games, Hemphill is averaging 8.1 points, 9.1 rebounds (4th in the MAC) and 1.4 blocks (6th in the MAC).
CENTER OF ATTENTION
Junior center Cassie Oursler has proved to be one of the most dominant post players in the conference when she is able to stay out of foul trouble. Oursler was able to have a very efficient game on Saturday as she went 4-for-8 from the floor and finished with eight points, six rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 24 minutes of work. On the season, Oursler is averaging 18.4 minutes, 8.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks while shooting 46.2% from the floor and 65.6% from the charity stripe. Oursler has recorded at least one block in 23 of her last 28 games and has notched at least two blocks in 15 of her 42 career starts.
CHARITY STRIPE PROWESS
Having a point guard who can shoot free throws at a high percentage is a major plus for teams hoping to compete for championships and Buffalo has just that in junior Stephanie Reid. The Melbourne, Australia native has been great at the charity stripe for the Bulls over her career as she has made 165-of-219 attempts (75.3%), ranking seventh in program history for free throw percentage. Senior JoAnna Smith has also been a great free throw shooter over her UB career as she ranks 15th in school history for free throw percentage (71.5%) as she has gone 176-for-246.
