Bulls Travel To Eastern Michigan On Wednesday Night
2/14/2017 12:00:00β―AM | Women's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo women's basketball team (16-7, 6-6 MAC) will close out their cross-division MAC schedule on Wednesday night as they travel to take on the Eastern Michigan Eagles. Tip is set for 7:00 pm at the Convocation Center on Wednesday night as UB looks to avoid their third straight loss to the Eagles.
Wednesday nights game will air live on ESPN3 starting at 7:00 pm or it can be heard live by tuning into ESPN1520 as Matt Mattia will get you ready for the game with the pre-game show starting at 6:30 pm.
UB LOOKS TO GET BACK ON TRACK AT EMU
Buffalo will return to the road on Wednesday night as they travel to take on MAC west foe Eastern Michigan at the Convocation Center. Tip is set for 7:00 pm as the Bulls look to avoid their second straight loss while the Eagles look to avoid their fifth straight defeat. UB is in search of their fourth win in their last five trips to Ypsilanti on Wednesday night. You can watch the game live on ESPN3 starting at 7:00 pm or you can tune your radio to ESPN1520 as Matt Mattia will be on the call starting at 6:30 pm with the pre-game show.
NIU TOO POWERFUL FOR BULLS ON SATURDAY
Despite scoring a season-high 80 points on Saturday afternoon, the UB women's basketball team was handed their sixth MAC loss of the season as the Northern Illinois Huskies raced past the Bulls 89-80. UB led for most of the first three quarters on Saturday before the Huskies opened the fourth quarter on a 16-0 run to take the lead and they never looked back. Buffalo was led offensively by senior JoAnna Smith who netted 22 points and three steals as she connected on 9-of-20 from the floor and 4-of-9 from behind the arc. Junior point guard Stephanie Reid had another strong game as she notched her career-high third double-double of the season as she went for 18 points, 12 assists, six rebounds and four steals as she became the 5th player in program history to record her 400th career assist in the loss.
FAMILIAR FOE
This marks the 23rd meeting all-time between the two programs with the Eagles owning the 15-7 edge in the series. Buffalo has won three of the last five against the Eagles but Eastern Michigan prevailed in both meetings last season. The Eagles downed UB by an average of 13.0 PPG last season including a 15-point win at Alumni Arena.
DROPPIN' DIMES
Junior point guard Stephanie Reid has been facilitating at a high level since the start of the season and it is resulting in one of the best seasons by a point guard in UB history. The Australia native currently ranks 7th in the NCAA in assists/game (7.3 APG) while ranking 2nd in the MAC. The junior has accumulated 168 assists through just 23 games, ranking fifth in program history for assists in a season. Last time out, Reid became the fifth player in program history to record her 400th career assist as she sits 24 assists shy of fourth place on the all-time assists charts. Reid now has six games with 10+ assists, all of which coming within her last 13 games for the Bulls. She has registered 8+ assists on 10 ocassions this season. Earlier in the season, Reid tied the program record with 16 assists against Ball State while her 28 assists over a two-game stretch are the most in the NCAA this season and most in program history.
BULLS RANK 13TH IN NATION IN OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING
Buffalo has been getting after the offensive glass all season long and this continued on Saturday as they snagged 12 offensive rebounds in the loss to NIU. The Bulls turned those 12 offensive rebounds into 11 second chance points. UB has now won or tied the offensive rebounding battle in 18 of their 23 games this season. On the year, UB ranks 13th in the NCAA in offensive rebounds (16.7/game) and 23rd in rebounds/game (42.7). Buffalo has held 18 opponents and 15 of their last 17, to 10 second chance points or less this season. The rebounding effort by the Bulls has been impressive as they are limiting their last 16 opponents to just 10.0 offensive rebounds/game while averaging 16.5 themselves.
CLEANING THE GLASS
One of the keys to the Bulls success this season has been winning the battle on the boards. UB wasn't able to do this on Saturday against Northern Illinois as they were outrebounded 49-37 in the loss. With the loss, UB is 2-3 on the season when losing the rebounding battle while they are 14-4 on the year and 31-8 over the past two seasons when winning or tying the rebounding battle. As a team, UB ranks 2nd in the MAC and 23rd in the NCAA in rebounds per game (42.7/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 at a high rate on Saturday as she netted a team-high 22 points in the loss to NIU. The senior sits in 10th place on UB's all-time scoring charts with 1,231 career points and she now sits just 12 points shy of former teammate MacKenzie Loesing for 9th place on the charts. Smith also sits in 3rd place on UB's all-time three pointers made charts as she has connected on 179 through 112 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 not able to outshoot the Huskies on Saturday as they connected on 46.3% of their shots while UB shot just 41.6%. With the loss, Buffalo is now just 3-7 on the year when shooting a lower percentage. The Bulls are 13-0 this season and 30-1 over the past two seasons when shooting a higher percentage from the floor than their opponents.
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 14 of their 23 games this season. UB was not able to win this battle on Saturday but they were still able to collect the win as they were outscored 40-34. With the loss, the Bulls are now 2-7 on the year when losing the battle of the paint. When winning the paint battle, UB holds a dominant 14-0 record on the season as they are averaging 30.7 points while limiting their opponents to just 25.0 points inside the paint on the season.
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 won this category on Saturday for the 19th time this season by the score of 6-4. On the season, UB owns the 204-79 edge in fast break scoring and are 15-4 when winning and just 1-3 when losing the fast break category. UB has won the fast break category in eight of their last nine wins including their last five wins.
PROTECTING THE THREE POINT LINE
The Bulls have turned into one of the best three point defense teams in the MAC as of late and that continued on Saturday as they held the Northern Illinois Huskies to just 5-for-16 (31.3%) from behind the arc in the loss. Buffalo ranks 2nd in the conference allowing their opponents to shoot just 27.9% from behind the arc overall this season. In MAC play, UB ranks 2nd in three point defense as their opponents are shooting just 26.0%. Through 12 MAC games, the Buffalo defense is allowing just 4.2 triples against/game.
TURNING THEM OVER IN MAC PLAY
With just six conference games remaining, the UB defense has begun to take shape as they have turned into one of the best defenses in the conference in forcing turnovers. The stingy Buffalo defense ranks second in the MAC with a turnover margin of +2.3 as they are forcing an average of 16.9 turnovers/game. Over their last five games, UB is forcing an average of 18.2 turnovers while turning those into 16 points. The Bulls are tied for first in the MAC averaging 9.3 steals/game as they have accumulated 112 steals in conference action.
JOANNA SMITH SMITH LEADS SCORING EFFORTS
After tying her career-high with 31 points against Kent State, senior JoAnna Smith backed it up with a team-high 22 points on Saturday in the loss to Northern Illinois. The Southaven, MS native finished the game going only 9-for-20 from the floor and 4-for-9 from behind the arc as she has now connected on at least one three pointer in 56 of her last 59 games and at least three triples in 32 of her last 59 games. She has gone over the 20-point plateau in five of her last six games for the Bulls. Smith sits in third place on the all-time three pointers made list with 179 makes in her career as she has proved to be one of the most dangerous deep range shooters in program history. Buffalo is 14-5 this season and 33-16 over the past two seasons when Smith scores at least 10 points in a game. On the season, Smith is averaging a team-best 16.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists and 1.7 steals while leading UB in scoring 14 times. The captain has surpassed the 20-point plateau nine times this season including seven times in her past 11 games for the Bulls. In MAC play, Smith ranks 3rd in the conference in scoring as she is averaging 20.7 points while ranking 3rd in three pointers made with 37.
REID ALL ABOUT IT
Junior point guard Stephanie Reid continued her high level of play on Saturday as she was able to notcher her career-best third double-double of the season as she netted 18 points, 12 assists, six rebounds and four steals across 37 minutes of work. Reid finished the game going 7-for-13 from the floor and 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. She has recorded at least eight helpers in 10 of her last 16 games for the Bulls and at least 10 assists in six of her last 13 contests. Her 28 assists over a two-game span (Ball State and Western Michigan) are the most in the NCAA this season and most in program history. The junior sits in 5th place on UB's all-time assists charts with 405 career assists. Reid has reached double figures in scoring 13 times in her last 20 games. She has recorded at least one steal in 20 of 23 games and has notched multi-steal games 13 times this season including in four of her last five games. The junior has at least four steals in three of her last four games. Behind her recent strong play, Reid is averaging 9.7 points, 7.3 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.2 steals while ranking first in the MAC in assist/turnover ratio (3.1) and second in assists (7.3 APG). Through 12 MAC games, Reid is 1st in the MAC in assists per game (8.3/game) and first in assist/turnover ratio (3.8).
COURT-3 WILKINS
Junior sharpshooter Courtney Wilkins came off the bench on Saturday and made a huge impact on the game. The Australia native finished off her afternoon with a career-high 18 points and three rebounds across 23 minutes of action. Wilkins went 7-for-15 from the floor and 2-for-9 from deep as she helped keep UB in the game on Saturday. She went for seven points in the third quarter as the Bulls netted 26 as a team. The three point shooting of Wilkins has added a dimension to the Bulls bench as she is averaging 4.2 points and 2.0 rebounds while connecting on 19 triples. Over her last two games, Wilkins is averaging 15.5 points and 2.0 rebounds while going 12-for-22 from the floor and connecting on five three pointers.
ONWUKA BLOSSOMING IN STARTING ROLE
Freshman Theresa Onwuka has continued to improve and earn the trust of the UB coaching staff through 23 games this season. The lengthy guard earned her 10th straight start on Saturday with six points, four rebounds and an assist in 22 minutes of work. The freshman has now went over the 20 minutes played mark 12 times in her last 13 games and has scored in double figures in seven of her 10 starts this season. On the year, she is averaging 19.7 MPG, 6.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 1.1 SPG through 23 career games. She has scored in double figures in eight of her 12 MAC games while ranking third on the team with 41 offensive rebounds on the year.
HEMPHILL CONTINUES TO REBOUND THE BASKETBALL
Freshman forward Summer Hemphill has shown flashes of greatness through her first 23 games and because of those flashes she was awarded with her 10th straight start on Saturday. The Buffalo native had a quiet but efficient game on Saturday as she finished with seven points, seven rebounds and a block in 17 minutes of action. The freshman led UB in rebounding for a team-best 13th time in the loss. Hemphill currently ranks 5th in the MAC in field goal percentage (55.0%). 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 19 of her last 20 games and has recorded at least one steal in 14 of 23 games. She has also notched two blocks in nine of her last 20 games as her quick leaping ability has caused problems for opposing bigs. Through 23 career games, Hemphill is averaging 6.9 points, a team-high 7.4 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.3 blocks while notching double digit rebounds a team-best four times this season. Her 2.6 offensive rebounds/game ranks 8th in the MAC so far this season.
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 188-of-247 attempts (76.1%), 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 14th in school history for free throw percentage (71.9%) as she has gone 184-for-256.
