Bulls Welcome Ohio On Wednesday Night For MAC East Clash
2/21/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo women's basketball team (18-7, 8-6 MAC) looks for their third straight win on Wednesday night as they welcome the Ohio Bobcats to Alumni Arena for a MAC east showdown. The Bulls will be in search of their 12th home win of the season which would tie a Buffalo division I record for home victories in a season.
The game will air live on ESPN3 with Paul Peck and Amy Audibert on the call or can be heard on ESPN1520 starting at 6:30 pm with the pre-game show with Matt Mattia.
UB TRYING TO IMPROVE PLAYOFF POSITION ON WEDNESDAY
Buffalo returns home on Wednesday night for their second of three straight at Alumni Arena as they welcome the Ohio Bobcats. The Ohio Bobcats enter Wednesday's game with a 18-7 overall record and a 9-5 MAC mark. UB will aim for their 12th home win of the season on Wednesday night as they look to tie the division I record for home wins in a season. 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.
BULLS BLOW PAST AKRON ON SATURDAY
The Bulls raced out to a 22-5 lead through one quarter and never looked back as they notched the convincing 81-51 victory over Akron on Saturday afternoon inside Alumni Arena. The Bulls defense held the Zips to just 27.9% shooting for the game while also forcing 21 turnovers that they turned into 14 points. The Bulls also rebounded the basketball at a high rate as they ripped down 57 rebounds, including 18 offensive boards that they turned into 13 second chance points. Stephanie Reid led the way with her team-leading fourth double-double of the season as she netted 17 points, 11 assists and five rebounds in just 23 minutes. Cassie Oursler finished off her strong game with 13 points, seven rebounds and a career-best five blocks. Senior leading scorer JoAnna Smith finished with 15 points, four rebounds and three assists as she netted five three pointers in the win.
FAMILIAR FOE
This marks the 37th meeting of all-time between the two programs with the Bulls owning the slim 19-17 edge in the series dating back to 1998-99. UB has won three of the last four meetings with the Bobcats with their lone loss coming earlier this season in Athens by the score of 83-55. The Bulls won all three meetings against the Bobcats last season, Ohio's only three MAC losses all season, including a win in the MAC Quarterfinals in Cleveland, OH.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Bulls will be home for their next two MAC games and this is a good sign as UB owns a 15-3 record at Alumni Arena over their last 18 games. Buffalo is 11-3 on their home court so far this season, the most wins at home since 2000-01 when they earned 12 home wins. Over the past 3+ seasons, UB owns a 37-17 record in from of their home crowd and they haven't lost more than five games in a season at Alumni Arena. At home this season, UB is averaging 71.9 points while allowing their opponents to average just 59.4 points and 36.2% shooting from the floor.
REID RANKS 3RD IN NCAA IN ASSISTS/GAME
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 3rd in the NCAA in assists/game (7.5 APG) while leading the MAC. The junior has accumulated 187 assists through just 25 games, a career-high and third most in a season in program history. Last time out, Reid notched 11 assists, her fifth game with at least 11 helpers this season. Reid is just the fifth player in UB history to accumulate 400 career assists. She is just 5 assists shy of 4th place on UB's all-time assists charts. Reid now has seven games with 10+ assists, all of which coming within her last 15 games for the Bulls. She has registered 8+ assists on 12 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. In MAC games, Reid is averaging 8.5 assists/game.
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 18 offensive rebounds in the home win over Akron. The Bulls turned those 18 offensive rebounds into 13 second chance points while they held the Zips to just 7 offensive boards and 1 second chance points. UB has now won or tied the offensive rebounding battle in 20 of their 25 games this season. On the year, UB ranks 13th in the NCAA in offensive rebounds (16.5/game) and 17th in rebounds/game (43.0). Buffalo has held 20 opponents and 17 of their last 19, to 10 second chance points or less this season. The rebounding effort by the Bulls has been impressive as they are limiting their last 18 opponents to just 9.7 offensive rebounds/game while averaging 16.4 themselves.
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 dominate the glass on Saturday afternoon as they outrebounded the ZIps 57-37 in the 30-point victory. With the win, UB is 16-4 on the year and 33-8 over the past two seasons when winning or tying the rebounding battle. As a team, UB ranks 2nd in the MAC and 17th in the NCAA in rebounds per game (43.0/game).
SMITH PASSES LOESING ON 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 got back on track with a 15-point effort on Saturday with five three pointers made. The senior moved past former teammate MacKenzie Loesing into 9th place on UB's all-time scoring charts with the 15-point effort as she has now accumulated 1,252 career points. Smith also sits in 3rd place on UB's all-time three pointers made charts as she has connected on 185 through 114 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 do this on Saturday as they outshot the Zips 38.2% to 27.9% for the game and it resulted in a 30-point home win. With the win, the Bulls are 15-0 this season and 32-1 over the past two seasons when shooting a higher percentage from the floor than their opponents.
DEFENSE STARTING TO HIT THEIR STRIDE
The strength of the Bulls over the past two seasons has been their defense and that strong defense has helped UB gather a 18-7 record on the season. The Buffalo defense put together their second straight strong outing as they held the Akron Zips to just 27.9% shooting and 51 points in the win. Buffalo also forced 21 turnovers that they turned into 14 points in the win. The Bulls rank 2nd in the MAC in scoring defense as they are allowing just 61.4 points/game. Buffalo is 41-7 over the last two seasons when holding their opponents under 70 points and are 18-0 when holding their opponents to scoring 50 points or less over the past two seasons. UB improved to 14-0 this season when holding their opponents to 59 points or less.
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 15 of their 24 games this season. UB was able to win the battle inside on Wednesday at EMU and it resulted in a win as they outscored the Eagles 28-22 down low. With the win, UB holds a dominant 15-0 record on the season when winning the battle of the paint. Buffalo is averaging 30.5 points while limiting their opponents to just 24.8 points inside the paint on the season.
RUNNING WITH THE BULLS
The Bulls have turned into one of the best fast break scoring teams in the country this season thanks in large part to the athleticism of this Buffalo roster. The Bulls won this category on Saturday for the 21st time this season by the score of 18-10. On the season, UB owns the 226-89 edge in fast break scoring and are 17-4 when winning this battle and just 1-3 when losing the fast break category. UB has won the fast break category in 10 of their last 11 wins including their last seven 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 Akron Zips to just 2-for-20 (10.0%) from behind the arc in the victory. Buffalo ranks 2nd in the conference and 15th in the NCAA allowing their opponents to shoot just 27.1% from behind the arc overall this season. In MAC play, UB ranks 2nd in three point defense as their opponents are shooting just 24.9%. Through 14 MAC games, the Buffalo defense is allowing just 4.0 triples against/game.
TURNING THEM OVER IN MAC PLAY
With just four 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 3rd in the MAC with a turnover margin of +1.8 in MAC play as they are forcing an average of 17.3 turnovers/game. Over their last eight games, UB is forcing an average of 18.0 turnovers while turning those into 16.6 points. The Bulls are second in the MAC averaging 9.7 steals/game as they have accumulated 136 steals in conference action.
JOANNA SMITH CONTINUES TO LEAD UB IN SCORING
Senior leading scorer JoAnna Smith got back on track offensively on Saturday against Akron as she was able to net 15 points, four rebounds and three assists in just 18 minutes in the win. The Southaven, MS native finished the game going 5-for-7 from behind the arc as she has now connected on at least one three pointer in 58 of her last 61 games and at least three triples in 33 of her last 61 games. She has gone over the 20-point plateau in five of her last eight games for the Bulls. Smith sits in third place on the all-time three pointers made list with 185 makes in her career as she has proved to be one of the most dangerous deep range shooters in program history. Buffalo is 15-5 this season and 34-16 over the past two seasons when Smith scores at least 10 points in a game. On the season, Smith is averaging a team-best 16.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists and 1.6 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 13 games for the Bulls. In MAC play, Smith ranks 3rd in the conference in scoring as she is averaging 19.3 points while ranking 4th in three pointers made with 43.
REID ALL ABOUT IT
Junior point guard Stephanie Reid continued her high level of play on Saturday afternoon in the 30-point win over Akron as she led the Bulls in scoring as she netted her team-high fourth double-double of the season with 17 points, 11 assists and five rebounds across just 23 minutes. Reid currently sits in 3rd place in UB history for assists in a season (187), one shy of 2nd place. She has recorded at least eight helpers in 12 of her last 18 games for the Bulls and at least 10 assists in seven of her last 15 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 424 career assists, just five assists shy of 4th place on the list. Reid has reached double figures in scoring 15 times in her last 22 games. She has recorded at least one steal in 22 of 25 games and has notched multi-steal games 14 times this season including in five of her last seven games. The junior has at least four steals three times in her last six games. Behind her recent strong play, Reid is averaging 10.2 points, 7.5 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 2.1 steals while ranking first in the MAC in assist/turnover ratio (3.2) and first in assists (7.5 APG). Through 14 MAC games, Reid is 1st in the MAC in assists per game (8.5/game) and first in assist/turnover ratio (3.8).
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 put together her second straight strong game on Saturday as she finished the win with 13 points, seven rebounds and a career-high five blocks in just 20 minutes of work. On the season, Oursler is averaging 18.3 minutes, 8.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks while shooting 47.1% from the floor and 68.4% from the charity stripe. Oursler has recorded at least one block in 27 of her last 34 games and has notched at least two blocks in 18 of her 48 career starts. The junior ranks 14th in program history with 65 career rejections.
COURT-3 WILKINS
Junior sharpshooter Courtney Wilkins has been coming off the UB bench and producing at a high rate as of late. the Australia native finished off Saturday's win over Akron with seven points, three rebounds and two steals across 12 minutes of action. Wilkins went 2-for-5 from behind the arc as her three point shooting has added a useful dimension to the Bulls bench. On the season, Wilkins is averaging 4.4 points and 2.1 rebounds while ranking second on the team with 23 three pointers. Over her last three games, Wilkins is averaging 20.7 minutes, 10.3 points and 3.0 rebounds while going 11-for-27 from the floor and connecting on six three pointers.
HEMPHILL CONTINUES TO REBOUND THE BASKETBALL
Freshman forward Summer Hemphill has shown flashes of greatness through her first 25 games. The Buffalo native had a quiet game offensively on Saturday as she netted just four points but she was able to snag a team-high nine rebounds in the win. Hemphill brought down three offensive rebounds as she has led UB in rebounding a team-best 13 times this season. Hemphill currently ranks 6th in the MAC in field goal percentage (54.8%). 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 21 games and has recorded at least one steal in 15 of 25 games. She has also notched two blocks in nine of her last 21 games as her quick leaping ability has caused problems for opposing bigs. Through 25 career games, Hemphill is averaging 6.5 points, a team-high 7.3 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocks while notching double digit rebounds a team-best four times this season. Her 2.5 offensive rebounds/game ranks 10th in the MAC so far this season.
BAD(E) TO THE BONE
Sophomore guard Gabi Bade came off the bench on Saturday and played 22 minutes, her most minutes in a game since November 16 against Niagara. Bade was able to net five points while also grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds in the Bulls win over Akron. Bade is having a career year for UB as she is averaging 13.6 minutes, 3.7 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists while also netting a career-high 16 points earlier in the season. UB is 3-0 this season and 5-1 over the past two seasons when Bade nets at least 10 points.
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 194-of-255 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.
