Bulls Look For Bounce Back Effort Against Kent State On Saturday At Alumni Arena
2/3/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo women's basketball team (15-6, 5-5 MAC) will look to bounce back from a tough road loss at Toledo on Wednesday as they welcome MAC east foe Kent State to Alumni Arena. Tip is set for 2:00 pm on Saturday.
Saturday's game will air live on ESPN3 with Paul Peck and Amy Audibert on the call. Tune into ESPN1520 at 1:30 pm as Matt Mattia will get you ready for the game with the pre game show.
BULLS LOOK TO REBOUND AT HOME ON SATURDAY
The Bulls will return home on Saturday afternoon as they welcome MAC east foe Kent State to Alumni Arena for a showdown. The Bulls are starting a stretch that will see them play five of their next six games at home in front of their home fans. The game will air live on ESPN3 with Paul Peck and Amy Audibert on the call or can be heard on the radio on ESPN1520 with Matt Mattia on the call starting at 1:30 pm with the pre game show.
TOLEDO RUNS PAST BUFFALO AT SAVAGE ARENA
The Bulls came out a little flat on Wednesday night on the road at Toledo and they were handed their second loss in their last three games by the score of 85-63. The Rockets offense came out of the gates fast as they were able to knock down 52.0% of their shots for the game while the Bulls were limited to 31.4% shooting. Toledo also held the big edge in free throw shooting as they made 28-of-33 from the charity stripe while also winning the rebounding battle, 44-34. Stephanie Reid had her best offensive game of the season on Wednesday in the loss as she was able to net a season-high 24 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals across 36 minutes of work. Mariah Suchan had a strong game off the bench for UB as she netted nine points, six rebounds and a steal across 29 minutes.
FAMILIAR FOE
This marks the 27th meeting between the two programs with the Golden Flashes holding the 24-12 edge in the all-time series. UB has been dominant in the series as of late, winning the last nine games in the series inlcuding both matchups last season by an average of 13.5 points/game. UB has won five straight in the series at Alumni Arena, scoring an average of 70.4 PPG over that span.
CLEANING THE GLASS
One of the keys to the Bulls success this season has been winning the battle on the boards. UB dropped the rebounding battle 44-34 and it resulted in a loss to Toledo on Wednesday. UB is 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 15th in the NCAA in rebounds per game (43.3/game).
BULLS RANK 10TH IN NATION IN OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING
Buffalo has been getting after the offensive glass all season long and this continued on Wednesday night as they grabbed 17 offensive rebounds in the loss at Toledo. The Bulls turned those 17 offensive rebounds into 15 second chance points. UB has now won or tied the offensive rebounding battle in 17 of their 21 games this season. On the year, UB ranks 10th in the NCAA in offensive rebounds (17.1/game) and 25th in rebound margin (+7.6). UB is also averaging 14.0 second chance points/game so far this season while holding their opponents to an average of 7.5/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 had a quiet night in the loss to Toledo as she was only able to notch six points. Despite only scoring six points, Smith was able to move into 10th place on UB's all-time scoring charts with 1,178 career points and she now sits just 65 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 172 through 110 career games.
HOME COOKIN'
The Bulls have been a great home team over the last 3+ seasons under head coach Felisha Legette-Jack as they own a 35-16 record at Alumni Arena. UB hasn't lost more than five games at home in a season in the past three seasons. UB has started off their 2016-17 campaign with a 9-2 mark in front of their home fans at Alumni Arena. The Buffalo offense is averaging 69.8 PPG while allowing just 57.2 PPG at home this season.
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 weren't able to win this category on Wednesday night as Toledo outshot Buffalo 52.0% to 31.4% for the game. With the loss, UB fell to 3-6 this season when being outshot by their opponents. Buffalo is 12-0 this season and 29-1 over the past two seasons when shooting a higher percentage from the floor than their opponents.
DEFENSE STRUGGLES AT TOLEDO
The strength of the Bulls over the past two seasons has been their defense and that strong defense has helped UB gather a 15-6 record to start the season. The Buffalo defense struggled on Wednesday night at Toledo as the Rockets were able to shoot 52.0% from the floor for the game as they handed UB the loss. The Buffalo defense did force 21 turnovers and they turned those chances into 20 points but it wasn't enough on Wednesday. The Bulls rank 4th in the MAC in scoring defense as they are allowing just 61.0 points/game. Buffalo is 38-7 over the last two seasons when holding their opponents under 70 points and are 17-0 when holding their opponents to scoring 50 points or less over the past two seasons. UB is also 12-0 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 14 of their 21 games this season. UB was not able to win this battle on Wednesday and it resulted in a loss as the Rockets outscored UB 36-30 inside the paint. With the loss, the Bulls dropped to 1-6 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 30.5 points while limiting their opponents to just 24.4 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 lost this category for just the 4th time on Wednesday as the Rockets outscored UB 10-6 in the fast break. On the season, UB owns the 177-73 edge in fast break scoring and are 14-3 when winning and just 1-3 when losing the fast break category. UB has won the fast break category in seven of their last eight wins including their last four 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 as they rank 2nd in the conference allowing their opponents to shoot just 28.5% from behind the arc. In MAC play, UB ranks 2nd in three point defense as their opponents are shooting just 26.9%. Last time out, the Rockets were able to go 5-for-14 (35.7%) as they claimed the win over UB. Through 10 MAC games, the Buffalo defense is allowing just 4.3 triples against/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 14 games, the Bulls have limited their opponents to an average of 6.9 second chance points. Buffalo has held 17 opponents and 14 of their last 15, to 10 second chance points or less this season. The rebounding effort by the Bulls has been impressive as they are limiting their last 14 opponents to just 9.8 offensive rebounds/game while averaging 17.0 themselves.
JOANNA SMITH LEADING THE SCORING EFFORTS
After earning MAC East Player of the Week honors for the first time this season and fifth time in her career last week, senior JoAnna Smith had an off night on Wednesday at Toledo. Smith couldn't get going offensively as she was only able to notch six points, season-low, three rebounds and three steals. The Southaven, MS native finished the game going only 1-for-17 from the floor and 0-for-10 from behind the arc as she has now connected on at least one three pointer in 54 of her last 57 games and at least three triples in 30 of her last 57 games. She has gone over the 20-point plateau in three of her last four games for the Bulls. Smith sits in third place on the all-time three pointers made list with 172 makes in her career as she has proved to be one of the most dangerous deep range shooters in program history. Buffalo is 13-4 this season and 32-15 over the past two seasons when Smith scores at least 10 points in a game. On the season, Smith is averaging a team-best 15.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists and 1.6 steals while leading UB in scoring 12 times. The captain has surpassed the 20-point plateau seven times this season including five times in her past nine games for the Bulls. In MAC play, Smith ranks 5th in the conference in scoring as she is averaging 19.5 points while ranking 3rd in three pointers made with 30.
REID ALL ABOUT IT
Junior point guard Stephanie Reid had her best scoring game of the season on Wednesday in the loss to Toledo as she netted a season-best 24 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals. Reid finished the game going 8-for-18 from the floor and 7-for9 from the charity stripe as UB dropped their fifth MAC game of the season. She has recorded at least eight helpers in nine of her last 14 games for the Bulls and at least 10 assists in five of her last 11 contests. Her 42 assists over her last four games are the most in program history while her 28 assists over a two-game span is the most in the NCAA this season. The junior moved into a tie for 5th place on UB's all-time assists charts with her assistant coach Ashely Zuber as she has 388 career assists. Reid has reached double figures in scoring 11 times in her last 18 games. She has recorded at least one steal in 18 of 21 games and has notched multi-steal games 12 times this season including the last three games. Behind her recent strong play, Reid is averaging 9.2 points, 7.2 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.1 steals while ranking first in the MAC in assist/turnover ratio (3.1) and second in assists (7.2 APG). Through 10 MAC games, Reid is 1st in the MAC in assists per game (8.3/game) and first in assist/turnover ratio (4.2).
ONWUKA BLOSSOMING INTO A SCORING THREAT
Freshman Theresa Onwuka has continued to improve and earn the trust of the UB coaching staff through 21 games this season. The lengthy guard earned her eighth straight start on Wednesday and had a quiet game offensively as she was only able to net eight points, one rebound and one steal in 34 minutes of action. The freshman has now went over the 20 minutes played mark 10 times in her last 11 games and has scored in double figures in seven of her eight starts this season. On the year, the Nigeria native is averaging 19.3 MPG, 6.9 PPG, 3.6 RPG and 1.1 SPG through 21 career games. She has scored in double figures in eight of the 10 MAC games.
HEMPHILL CONTINUES TO REBOUND THE BASKETBALL
Freshman forward Summer Hemphill has shown flashes of greatness through her first 21 games and because of those flashes she was awarded with her eighth straight start on Wednesday. The Buffalo native struggled offensively for the second straight game as she only scored one point but she was able to grab six rebounds including four offensive boards in the loss. Hemphill currently ranks 5th in the MAC in field goal percentage (54.7%). 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 17 of her last 18 games and has recorded at least one steal in 14 of 21 games. She has also notched two blocks in eight of her last 18 games as her quick leaping ability has caused problems for opposing bigs. Through 21 career games, Hemphill is averaging 7.1 points, a team-high 7.4 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocks while notching double digit rebounds a team-best four times this season. Her 2.8 offensive rebounds/game ranks 7th in the MAC so far this season.
SUCHAN EMBRACING BENCH ROLE
Junior forward Mariah Suchan had her second straight strong effort off the Buffalo bench on Wednesday night as she earned a season-high 29 minutes of action. The Witchita, KS native finished off her night with nine points, six rebounds and a steal as she spelled Cassie Oursler and Summer Hemphill in the post. Suchan also was strong defensively all game long. She has been very efficient over her past two contests as she has gone 8-for-13 from the floor while averaging 22 minutes/game.
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 179-of-236 attempts (75.8%), 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 182-for-253.
