Saturday, November 27
Buffalo, NY
2:00 PM
3-2,0-0MAC
62
vs
45
James Madison
3-3,0-0CAA
1
2
3
4
F
James Madison
15
11
10
9
45
Buffalo
10
9
21
22
62
Second Half Comeback Propels Bulls to 62-45 Win Over James Madison
11/27/2021 4:42:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo women's basketball team outscored James Madison 43-19 in the second half to defeat the Dukes 62-45 at Alumni Arena on Saturday afternoon. With the win the Bulls improve to 3-2 on the year and 2-0 at home.
Junior guard Dyaisha Fair led the Bulls offensively with 26 points to go along with two assists, four steals and two blocks. Sophomore Cheyenne McEvans was fantastic on both ends of the floor, scoring 14 points while adding nine rebounds, six assists and four steals and senior Jazmine Young also scored in double figures with 11 points. Summer Hemphill dominated the glass as she pulled down a season-high 13 rebounds.
The UB defense was stifling from the jump as they held the Dukes without a field goal for the first four minutes of the game while the offense used a 5-0 run, capped by a Fair three, to take an early lead and they would lead 9-4 at the media timeout but JMU responded with an 11-1 run to take a 15-10 lead at the end of the first.
Hemphill, McEvans and Fair gave the Bulls a spark as the Bulls rattled off a 7-0 run in just over a minute to tie the game at 17 at the 8:14 mark and force a JMU timeout. Both teams would go on a prolonged scoring drought out of the timeout before Fair found McEvans under the basket and she converted off glass to give UB a 19-17 lead but the Dukes would close the half on a 9-0 run to take a 26-19 lead at the half.
After a slow start to the third quarter, Fair put the team on her back as she put together a 10-0 run by herself to give the Bulls a 29-28 lead at the five-minute mark. Out of the media timeout, Loren Christie came up with a block and McEvans knocked down the midrange-jumper in transition to extend the run to 12-0 before the Dukes scored to cut the lead to one at the 3:44 mark. The Bulls continued to attack as Fair hit a spot up triple and Young converted on a mid-range jumper in the final minute of play to give the Bulls a 40-36 lead at the end of the third.
Fair continued to heat up as she knocked down a three to put UB up 43-37 early in the fourth quarter and then McEvans took over as she came up with a block and then got the bucket and the foul at the other end to give Bulls a 47-39 lead and force a JMU timeout at the 6:48 mark. McEvans continued to impress as she had a highlight reel assist to Young in transition and later tracked down an offensive rebound and scored to give UB a 51-39 lead at the 4:07 mark. Buffalo would extend the lead to 19 on five straight points by Young and a Hemphill transition bucket to take a 60-41 lead with just under two minutes to play and that was more than enough to secure the victory.
"What a great team effort," said head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. "It was a battle of the defenses in the first half and whoever was going to get more opportunities to score was going to be the team that wins. Dyaisha is such a special player and she willed us offensively. Cheyenne was a defensive juggernaut, Jazmine ran the team and Summer controlled the boards. It's not about one person, it's about our team. You can't just stop one, you must be ready to stop all five."
The Bulls are now a perfect 53-0 over the last five-plus seasons when holding opponents to 59 points or less. Buffalo did what they do best turning defense into offense as they scored 19 points off 15 JMU turnovers while also scoring 27 fast break points.
Buffalo continues the homestand on Wednesday, December 1, as they welcome Big 4 foe Niagara to Alumni Arena. Tipoff is set for 7pm.
Junior guard Dyaisha Fair led the Bulls offensively with 26 points to go along with two assists, four steals and two blocks. Sophomore Cheyenne McEvans was fantastic on both ends of the floor, scoring 14 points while adding nine rebounds, six assists and four steals and senior Jazmine Young also scored in double figures with 11 points. Summer Hemphill dominated the glass as she pulled down a season-high 13 rebounds.
The UB defense was stifling from the jump as they held the Dukes without a field goal for the first four minutes of the game while the offense used a 5-0 run, capped by a Fair three, to take an early lead and they would lead 9-4 at the media timeout but JMU responded with an 11-1 run to take a 15-10 lead at the end of the first.
Hemphill, McEvans and Fair gave the Bulls a spark as the Bulls rattled off a 7-0 run in just over a minute to tie the game at 17 at the 8:14 mark and force a JMU timeout. Both teams would go on a prolonged scoring drought out of the timeout before Fair found McEvans under the basket and she converted off glass to give UB a 19-17 lead but the Dukes would close the half on a 9-0 run to take a 26-19 lead at the half.
After a slow start to the third quarter, Fair put the team on her back as she put together a 10-0 run by herself to give the Bulls a 29-28 lead at the five-minute mark. Out of the media timeout, Loren Christie came up with a block and McEvans knocked down the midrange-jumper in transition to extend the run to 12-0 before the Dukes scored to cut the lead to one at the 3:44 mark. The Bulls continued to attack as Fair hit a spot up triple and Young converted on a mid-range jumper in the final minute of play to give the Bulls a 40-36 lead at the end of the third.
Fair continued to heat up as she knocked down a three to put UB up 43-37 early in the fourth quarter and then McEvans took over as she came up with a block and then got the bucket and the foul at the other end to give Bulls a 47-39 lead and force a JMU timeout at the 6:48 mark. McEvans continued to impress as she had a highlight reel assist to Young in transition and later tracked down an offensive rebound and scored to give UB a 51-39 lead at the 4:07 mark. Buffalo would extend the lead to 19 on five straight points by Young and a Hemphill transition bucket to take a 60-41 lead with just under two minutes to play and that was more than enough to secure the victory.
"What a great team effort," said head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. "It was a battle of the defenses in the first half and whoever was going to get more opportunities to score was going to be the team that wins. Dyaisha is such a special player and she willed us offensively. Cheyenne was a defensive juggernaut, Jazmine ran the team and Summer controlled the boards. It's not about one person, it's about our team. You can't just stop one, you must be ready to stop all five."
The Bulls are now a perfect 53-0 over the last five-plus seasons when holding opponents to 59 points or less. Buffalo did what they do best turning defense into offense as they scored 19 points off 15 JMU turnovers while also scoring 27 fast break points.
Buffalo continues the homestand on Wednesday, December 1, as they welcome Big 4 foe Niagara to Alumni Arena. Tipoff is set for 7pm.
Team Stats
JMU
UB
FG%
.317
.381
3FG%
.056
.222
FT%
.333
.769
RB
45
45
TO
19
15
STL
8
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
26
FGM
9
3FGM
4
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
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