Bulls Bounce Back With 82-74 Win Over Bowling Green

Wednesday, January 13

Buffalo, NY

5:00 PM

8-3,5-1MAC

Bowling Green

8-3,4-2MAC

Bowling Green

Buffalo

Bulls Bounce Back With 82-74 Win Over Bowling Green

1/13/2021 8:01:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo women's basketball team overcame an 11-point first half deficit and outscored Bowling Green 25-14 in what proved to be a pivotal third quarter, to defeat the Falcons 82-74 at Alumni Arena on Wednesday night. With the win the Bulls improve to 8-3 on the year and 5-1 in league play.

Buffalo was led by sophomore guard Dyaisha Fair who poured in a career-high 36 points, including 8-of-12 shooting from behind the arc, to go along with seven rebounds and six assists. Senior Hanna Hall recorded 17 points, including four triples, to go along with five assists and Cheyenne McEvans also scored in double figures with 13 points while adding nine rebounds.

The Falcons would take an early 7-2 lead before a three by Fair would stop the run and later, back-to-back jumpers by Hall and Fair would even the game at 10 at the first media timeout. Bowling Green would answer with an 11-0 run to take a 21-10 lead but McEvans came up with a big block and converted the jumper in transition as time expired to cut the lead to 21-14 at the end of the first.

The Falcons would extend the lead to 10 at the 7:10 mark but the Bulls would battle back as Hall drained a triple on the wing to cut the lead to 29-24 at the media timeout. Buffalo would use a 5-0 run on back-to-back buckets from Keowa Walters to cut the lead to 31-29 at the 2:42 mark but the Falcons would score in the final seconds to take a 37-33 lead at the break.

The Bulls got hot from beyond the arc to start the third quarter as Fair converted on back-to-back triples and Hall added a three to give UB its first lead since the opening minutes, 42-41, at the 7:42 mark. Later, Fair drilled another triple and McEvans slashed to the basket for two to give UB a 47-45 lead and force a BGSU timeout at the 6:08 mark. Fair would continue to stay hot from deep as she hit two more three's, the second from NBA range, to cap an 8-0 run and give UB a 55-47 lead at the 2:02 mark and Buffalo would maintain a 57-52 lead at the end of the third.

After a back-and-forth start to the fourth quarter, Zena Elias and Fair scored on back-to-back possessions to cap a 6-0 run, put UB up 63-57 and force a Falcons timeout at the 6:56 mark. The Bulls extended the lead to nine on a three from Hall before the Falcons used a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 66-63 at the 4:36 mark. The two teams would trade baskets before Buffalo used a 9-3 run to take a 78-68 lead in the final minute and the Bulls would seal the game from the free throw line to secure the victory.

"Very physical game, cooler heads prevailed," said head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. "I'm so grateful that our kids kept their composure because that was a battle. We have to learn how to play all kinds of games and after observing this game I am so proud of how we handled ourselves. We fight on!"

The Bulls won the battle on the glass 42-34, including 18 offensive rebounds. Buffalo also outscored the Falcons 17-9 in transition and scored 16 points off of 17 BGSU turnovers. The 12 three-pointers made was just shy of the season-high of 13 makes at James Madison.

The Bulls return to action on Saturday, January 16, at Ball State.