Bulls Set For Big 4 Battle at Niagara on Saturday

Saturday, November 9

Niagara Falls, NY

4:00 pm

University at Buffalo

Niagara

Bulls Set For Big 4 Battle at Niagara on Saturday

11/8/2019 12:44:00 PM | Women's Basketball

2019-20 Game Notes - Niagara Live Stats WATCH LIVE - ESPN3 LISTEN ON TUNEIN

Buffalo (1-0, 0-0 MAC) vs. Niagara (0-1, 0-0 MAAC)
November 9, 2019
Gallagher Center – 4 p.m.
Bulls on the Air –
Radio – ESPN 1520-AM WWKB/TuneIn App
Television – ESPN3

BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo women's basketball team will look for their fifth straight 2-0 start to the season on Saturday afternoon as they travel to Big 4 foe Niagara for a 4pm contest with the Purple Eagles. The game will be streamed live on ESPN3 with Dave Universal (pbp) and Mark Collins (color) announcing and broadcast on ESPN 1520 WWKB and TuneIn Radio with Matt Mattia announcing.

TODAY'S STORYLINES
• The Bulls opened up their 2019-20 campaign with a 61-56 win over Central Connecticut State on Tuesday night as they have now won five straight season openers under head coach Felisha Legette-Jack.
• This will be the 43rd meeting between Buffalo and Niagara with the Bulls owning a 23-19 series edge. UB defeated the Purple Eagles 88-61 at Alumni Arena last season.
• The Bulls became the first MAC women's team to win an NCAA Tournament game in back-to-back years since the 1991-1992 seasons.
• Buffalo has produced four straight 20+ win seasons, marking just the second time in program history that the Bulls have accomplished that feat
• Buffalo was picked to finish second in the MAC East by the MAC coaches in the preseason poll and Summer Hemphill earned a spot on the All-MAC East Division Team for the second consecutive season.
• Summer Hemphill was named to the Katrina McClain Award watch list as one of the top-20 power forwards in Division 1 college basketball.
• Summer Hemphill was also a unanimous selection for Big 4 Preseason Player of the Year. Joining Hemphill on the first team is senior Theresa Onwuka and junior Hanna Hall.

GAME 1 RECAP: CENTRAL CONNECTICUT
•The University at Buffalo women's basketball team defeated Central Connecticut State 61-56 in the 2019-20 season-opener at Alumni Arena on Tuesday night.
• The Bulls were led by freshman Dyaisha Fair who recorded a double-double in her first game as a Bull as she scored a game-high 24 points while grabbing 10 rebounds and dished out three assists.
• Senior Theresa Onwuka recorded a new career-high with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting and went 7-for-8 from the charity stripe to go along with five rebounds, five steals and three assists.
• With the win, the Bulls are now a perfect 40-0 over the last three plus seasons when holding opponents to under 60 points.

PREVIEWING NIAGARA
• The Niagara Purple Eagles enter Saturday afternoon's non-conference showdown against UB with a 0-1 record.
• The Purple Eagles opened up their 2019-20 campaign with a 71-67 overtime loss at Big 4 foe St. Bonaventure on Thursday.
• Niagara is led offensively by preseason All-MAAC East First Team and preseason Big 4 First Team selection Jai Moore who scored 22 pts, while grabbing 6 rebounds in the loss.
• Emerald Ekpiteta and Maggie McIntyre were named to the preseason Big 4 Second Team.
• Niagara was tabbed seventh in the preseason coaches' poll. It is the highest the Purple Eagles have been picked since being selected to finish fifth in the 2014-15 preseason poll.
• Jada Pierce begins her fifth season as head coach of the Purple Eagles after leading Niagara to their best conference start since the 2004-05 season, with the team going 7-4 through its first 11 MAAC games. Pierce played collegiately at West Chester University of Pennsylvania where she helped West Chester to the program's first NCAA Division II Tournament berth as a senior co-captain during 1996-97 season.

PRESEASON PRAISE
• The Bulls were picked to finish second in the MAC East in the preseason poll as voted on by the conference coaches.
• Buffalo earned 56 total points behind Ohio who notched 12 first place votes and 72 total points.
• The defending MAC champions also earned one vote to win the MAC Tournament Championship, while Ohio earned 10 votes and Northern Illinois garnered one vote.
• The Bulls also placed Summer Hemphill on the preseason All-MAC East Division Team for the second consecutive year.

HEMPHILL NAMED BIG 4 PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
• Senior forward Summer Hemphill was selected by local media and athletic communication offices as the Preseason Big 4 Player of the Year.
• Hemphill was also one of three unanimous First Team All-Big 4 representatives.
• Joining Hemphill on the First Team is senior guard Theresa Onwuka and junior guard Hanna Hall.

ANOTHER 20+ WIN SEASON
• The wins continue to pile up for the Bulls under head coach Felisha Legette-Jack as they produced their fourth straight 20+ win campaign in 2018-19.
• This marks the second time in school history the Bulls have won 20+ games in four straight seasons as they previously accomplished that feat from 1993-97.
• Buffalo posted 16 victories last season by double-digits, including four of their last five games and also posted six victories by 20+ points including a season-high 47 point victory, 90-43, over St. Bonaventure on December 23, 2018.
• UB also dominated MAC opponents, defeating conference foes by an average of 17.1 points.

MACtion
• After seeing two of its teams advance to the NCAA Tournament a year ago (Buffalo, Central Michigan), the Mid-American Conference continues to gain respect on the national stage as three teams began the season ranked in the Mid-Major Top-25 - No. 12 Central Michigan, No. 16 Ohio, No. 19 Buffalo
*As of November 4, 2019

SUMMER TIME IN BUFFALO
• Senior forward Summer Hemphill begins her final season in the blue and white tied for 10th on UB's all-time rebounding list with 759 rebounds and is just 81 points away from becoming Buffalo's 26th 1,000 point scorer.
• Hemphill was named Second Team All-MAC last season after averaging 14.5 points and 10.3 rebounds per game while recording a team-high 13 double-doubles on the year
• The Buffalo, NY native tied her career-high with 24 points, including a career-high 12 field goals, in a win over Central Michigan in the MAC Tournament semifinals (3/15/19).
• Hemphill set the MAC Tournament record with 21 rebounds in a win over Ohio in the championship game, earning her a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
• Over the past three years, Hemphill has scored in double figures 46 times, while going over the 20+ point mark four times.
• Hemphill was named to the Katrina McClain Award watch list as one of the top-20 power forwards in Division 1 college basketball.
• Hemphill was also named to the Preseason All-MAC East Division Team and was selected as the unanimous Preseason Big 4 Player of the Year.

DAILY DOUBLE
• Senior forward Summer Hemphill posted 13 double-doubles last season, including a 16 point, 21 rebound performance in the MAC Championship game.

Date                   Opponent                        Total
12-18-18            Dartmouth                       24 pts, 14 reb
1-15-19              Ohio                                 14 pts, 10 reb
1-17-19              Ball State                         12 pts, 10 reb
1-19-19              Western Michigan          19 pts, 14 reb
1-23-19              Akron                               10 pts, 12 reb
1-26-19              Northern Illinois              18 pts, 14 reb
2-9-19                Kent State                        16 pts, 12 reb
2-13-19              Bowling Green                13 pts, 11 reb
2-20-19              Ball State                         24 pts, 10 reb
2-27-19              Ohio                                 11 pts, 18 reb
3-2-19                Miami (OH)                     15 pts, 15 reb
3-6-19                Bowling Green                17 pts, 16 reb
3-16-19              Ohio                                 16 pts, 21 reb

HALL PASS
• Junior Hanna Hall returns for her third year with the Bulls and looks to be a mainstay in the Bulls lineup after earning the start in 27 of the Bulls 34 games last season.
• The Hamilton, ON native averaged 25.3 minutes, 6.4 points, 3.0 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game in 2018-19.
• The junior had the best game of her career at Eastern Michigan on January 9 as she went 6-of-9 from the floor and 5-of-8 from beyond the arc on the night, finishing with a career-high 20 points.
• Hall was named to the MAC All-Tournament Team after averaging 14.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists over three games in Cleveland.
• Hall competed at the 2019 Pan American Women's Basketball Games in Lima, Peru as a member of the Canadian National Team.

YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
• With 11 underclassmen on the roster, the Bulls are the youngest team in the MAC and the youngest of any opponent on the schedule this season.

UNITED NATIONS
• The Bulls roster features players from five countries including Germany (Gaba, Schiffer), Great Britain (Christie), Nigeria (Onwuka), Canada (Adeyeye, Hall, Kounkou, Walters) and the U.S.
• Elea Gaba took home a gold medal with the German national team at the 2018 U18 European Championships and also competed at the 2019 U18 European Championships and 2019 U19 World Cup.
• Jessika Schiffer won a gold medal with Gaba at the 2018 U18 European Championships and teamed with Gaba at the 2019 World Cup. She also competed at the 2019 U20 Women's European Championship.
• Loren Christie represented Great Britain in two straight years at the U20 European Championships and captained the U16 Great Britain national team at the 2017 European Championship. She also led her high school to a WEABL Championship and earned WEABL first team honors during her senior season.

ROC NATION
• Fans will get their first look at highly touted freshman Dyaisha Fair who will begin her career in the blue and white this season. A Rochester, NY native, Fair comes to the Bulls after a successful high school career at Edison Tech High School where she averaged 35 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists during her senior campaign.
• The ultra-talented point guard led Section V in scoring and was named All-Greater Player of the Year, becoming the first Rochester City School District player to win the award since its inauguration in 1993.

CLOSING TIME
• The Bulls have been extremely effective closing out games over the last five years, winning 102 of their last 107 games (.953) when leading or tied with five minutes left, including 69 of their last 71.

CHARITY WORK
• The Bulls led the MAC and finished third in the nation in free throws made (563) and were ranked seventh nationally in free throw percentage (.777) and 10th nationally in free throws attempted (725) last season.

TURNING THEM OVER
• The Buffalo defense forced an average of 18.4 turnovers/game across 34 contests last season.
• As a team, Buffalo was second the MAC and 55th in the NCAA in turnovers.
• The Bulls also averaged 9.6 steals/game last season while netting an average of 19.5 points/game off of opponent's turnovers.

RUNNING WITH THE BULLS
• The Bulls excelled in the open court last season, outscoring opponents 455-268 in the fastbreak category.
• Buffalo held opponents to no fast break points four times last season, while recording at least two fast break points in 33 of 34 contests.
• Over the past three seasons, the Bulls have won or tied the fast break category in 84 of 101 games, including 68 of their 75 wins.

PAINTING A NEW PICTURE
• The Bulls dominated the paint last season as UB won or tied the scoring in the paint category in 28 of 34 contests.
• UB set a season-high with 56 points in the paint at Ball State on February 20, scoring 32 of their 40 field goals inside the painted area.
• The Bulls were 19-3 last season when winning the battle inside as they averaged 32.9 points/game in the paint while holding their opponents to an average of 25.4 points/game down low.

CLEANING THE GLASS
• One of the keys to the Bulls success last season was their ability to rebound the basketball. The Bulls finished the year ranked second in the MAC and 54th in the NCAA in rebounds/game as they averaged 40.5/game.
• The Bulls also limited their opponents to just 36.1 rebounds/game and went 19-4 this season when winning the rebounding battle. UB won the rebounding battle in 24 of 34 games last season, including 14 of 18 MAC contests.

CREATING SECOND CHANCE OPPORTUNITIES
• Buffalo excelled all season long on the offensive glass as the Bulls led the MAC and ranked 23rd nationally in offensive rebounding, averaging 14.9/game last season.
• UB grabbed a season-high 26 offensive rebounds against Bowling Green on March 6, turning those into 21 second chance points.
• In MAC games, UB turned up the attack on the offensive glass as they led the conference, averaging 14.9/game, 2.5 offensive rebounds more than 2nd place Kent State.
• Buffalo grabbed at least 10 offensive rebounds in 30 of their 34 games this season and snagged 20+ on five occasions. The Bulls took advantage of their offensive rebounds as they are averaged 13.6 second chance points per game on the year.

BOMBS AWAY:
• For the second time in as many seasons, the Bulls broke the single-season record for three pointers with 242 triples, besting the previous mark set of 230 set by the 2017-18 squad. The 2018-19 Bulls also set the single-season record for three point field goals attempted with 765 surpassing the previous mark of 689 attempts set by the 2015-16 team.

HOME SWEET HOME
• Since Legette-Jack took over before the 2012-13 season, the Bulls hold a 67-29 (.698) record at home across 96 contests.
• Over the last two plus seasons, UB is 22-3 at Alumni Arena. The 2017-18 team finished a perfect 12-0 at home overall and 9-0 in conference play.
• On the flip side, Legette-Jack's Bulls are 77-57 (.575) on the road or on neutral ground during her tenure.

80 PLUS
• The Bulls have always been known for their defense but over the last few seasons the UB offense has come alive, leading the Bulls to success on the national stage in back-to-back seasons.
• The Bulls are tough to beat when they score 80+ points as they own a 30-4 record over the past two plus years when doing so.
• The Bulls posted 80+ performances on 14 occasions last season, coming away with victories in 12 of those games.
• Buffalo averaged 76.1 points/game which ranked 23rd in the nation.

60 OR LESS
• Over the last three seasons, UB is 61-3 when holding their opponents to under 70 points and 40-0 when holding opponents to 59 points or less.
• The stingy Buffalo defense held a total of 22 opponents under 70 points last season, winning 20 of those contests.
• Buffalo has held a total of ten opponents under 50 points over the last two seasons and they were a perfect 10-0 in those games.

TRIO OF CAPTAINS NAMED FOR 2019-20 SEASON
• After the graduation of one of the winningest classes in the Bulls division I history, Buffalo will be relying on a new group of captains to lead the squad this season.
• After a team vote, the Bulls named Hanna Hall, Theresa Onwuka and Adebola Adeyeye as team captains.
• The trio have been a part of three straight 20+ win seasons.