Bulls Grind Out 82-73 Win at Toledo

Wednesday, February 10

Toledo, OH

5:30 PM

11-5,8-3MAC

Toledo

8-9,4-9MAC

Buffalo

Toledo

2/10/2021 8:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

TOLEDO, OH – The University at Buffalo women's basketball team scored 52 points in the second half to grind out an 82-73 win over Toledo at Savage Arena on Wednesday night. With the win the Bulls improve to 11-5 on the year and 8-3 in league play.

The Bulls were led by sophomore guard Dyaisha Fair who scored a game-high 29 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter, to go along with seven rebounds, six assists and two steals. Sophomore center Elea Gaba just missed out on a double-double, tying a career-high with 17 points and nine rebounds, and freshman Cheyenne McEvans recorded her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

After a slow start to the game for both teams, Gaba got things going with a hook shot in the paint and would later slice to the basket for two to give UB an early 6-2 lead and force a Toledo timeout at the 5:58 mark. The Bulls would extend the lead to 11-6 before the Rockets heated up from beyond the arc, knocking down a pair of triples to cut the UB lead to 15-14 at the end of the first quarter.

The Bulls and Rockets would trade baskets early in the second quarter before Hanna Hall knocked down a spot up triple to give UB a 22-20 lead at the media timeout. Back-to-back baskets by Keowa Walters would spark an 8-2 run to give Buffalo a 30-22 lead but Mali Morgan-Elliot hit a three in the final seconds to cut the UB lead to 30-25 at the half.

McEvans knocked down a corner triple and Gaba got the bucket and the foul to spark a 6-0 run and give UB a 36-25 lead early in the third quarter. Later, Fair would drain a spot up three and McEvans would follow with a strong take off glass for two to cap a 5-0 UB run and give Buffalo a 43-30 lead at the media timeout. The Rockets used a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 47-39 at the 2:03 mark before Fair found Zena Elias on the block for the easy two to limit the damage and later Fair would take it coast-to-coast in the final seconds of the quarter to give the Bulls a 55-42 lead at the end of three quarters of play.

The Rockets hit back-to-back triples to cut the UB lead to 57-52 early in the fourth quarter but Fair answered with a bucket through contact in transition to give UB a 60-52 lead at the 7:59 mark. The game would remain close as Buffalo would maintain a 64-54 lead at the five minute mark. A three from Morgan-Elliot cut the UB lead to 68-62 but Fair answered with a pull up jumper in the lane to give the Bulls a 70-62 lead at the 2:58 mark. Back-to-back three's by the Rockets cut the lead to 71-68 but Schiffer answered with a big three on the other end to give UB a 74-68 lead with one minute to play and that would be all they would need
as the Bulls went 8-of-10 from the charity stripe in the final minute to secure the victory.

"It's a collective unit," said head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. "We have Dyaisha who is going to do her thing but other players had to know that their role is just as valued. I thought Hanna did a great job of managing the game at the beginning and getting people in the right spots. Elea just said come through me and that light of hers is really flickering and then Dyaisha did Dyaisha stuff in the fourth quarter scoring 18 points in the fourth quarter. I'm not seeing a lot of people doing that in the country. Really proud of this group effort."

Buffalo is 6-1 this season and 41-7 over the last three plus years when scoring 80 or more points. The Bulls dominated the glass 52-34, including 22 offensive boards which UB turned into 17 second chance points, while also doubling the Rockets up in the paint 40-20. UB also turned nine steals into 19 points in transition.

Buffalo returns to action on Saturday, February 13, at Northern Illinois.