Balanced Bulls Bounce LIU, 91-59

Saturday, December 10

Buffalo, NY

2:00 pm

3-4,0-0MAC

LIU

2-8,0-0NEC

LIU

Buffalo

Photo by: Paul Hokanson/UBBulls.com

12/10/2022 4:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo women's basketball team dominated from start to finish as they cruised to a 91-59 win over LIU on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Arena.

It was a balanced offensive effort as four Bulls scored in double figures led by fifth year guards Jazmine Young and Zakiyah Winfield, the former of whom set a new career-high for the second straight game with 20 points to go with four rebounds and three assists and the later, who recorded her second-straight double-double and fifth of the year with 20 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Also scoring in double figures were Re'Shawna Stone, who recorded a season-high 17 points to go with six rebounds, six assists and two steals and Kiara Johnson, who narrowly missed out on a double-double, scoring a career-high 17 points and adding nine rebounds and two blocks.

After a back-and-forth start to the game the Bulls turned defense into offense, rattling off an 8-0 run, sparked by a pair of fastbreak layups by Winfield, to take a 12-5 lead and force a LIU timeout at the 5:37 mark. The Bulls continued to attack as Young hit Winfield for a pair of transition layups to extend the run to 14-2 and put UB up 16-7 at the 3:10 mark. The Sharks scored on back-to-back possessions to cut the lead to seven, but Ellis hit a big three from the wing and Perkins found Johnson on the block and she finished off glass to give Buffalo a 24-12 lead at the end of the first.

The Bulls picked up where they left off to start the second quarter as Young hit Johnson on the block for a layup and then Johnson returned the favor, finding Young inside for two. UB continued to pound it inside as Johnson got deep position and scored and then Winfield scored on back-to-back possessions off assists from Stone to give the Bulls a 37-20 lead at the media timeout. The UB offense continued to click as Young knocked down a midrange jumper and Johnson scored on two straight trips down the floor, and then added another off an offensive rebound putback, to cap a 12-2 run and give the Bulls a 45-22 lead at the half.

Buffalo's defense continued to stifle as they held the Sharks scoreless for the opening four minutes of the third quarter, taking a 50-24 lead into the media timeout. Young was left opened and made LIU pay with a triple out of the break and then Emerita Mashaire put on the moves and finished off glass for a beautiful bucket to extend the UB lead to 57-24 before Winfield converted on a midrange jumper from the elbow to put the Bulls up 61-28 at the end of the third.

The Sharks got hot from deep as they opened the fourth quarter on a 7-2 run before Johnson converted on an offensive rebound putback and Winfield stopped on a dime and dropped a 15-footer to limit the damage as the Bulls maintained a 67-38 lead at the 7:53 mark. Johnson continued to post up inside, scoring back-to-back baskets, and then Stone got to the rim on two great drives to put UB up 78-45 at the final media timeout. Buffalo continued to get to the rim as Stone, Young and Caelan Ellis made six consecutive free throw attempts to give UB their largest lead of the game, 84-49 with just under three minutes to play and the Bulls cruised to victory from there. Senior guard Briyanna Baron, who was put on scholarship earlier this week, saw the floor for the final three minutes, recording a rebound and an assist.

Buffalo shot 53.1% from the floor and a season-best 80% from the charity stripe on the day. The Bulls dominated every statistical category as they scored a season-high 58 points in the paint, outrebounded the Sharks 45-25, including scoring 16 second chance points off 16 offensive boards, while also scoring 20 points off LIU turnovers and adding a season-high 21 fastbreak points.

"I just shown everything of which they are capable every single day in practice," said head coach Becky Burke. "It's been a slow, developing process for us in games but we've been patient with them, they've been patient with us and this just shows what we are capable of on any given night. Definitely a positive momentum builder for us moving into our last game before the holiday break."

Up next, Buffalo will have a 10-day break for finals week before welcoming the Bucknell Bison to Alumni Arena on Tuesday, December 20 at 6pm.

As a reminder, the Buffalo women's basketball team is running a crowdfunding campaign through December 20 to raise money for various portable equipment that will help the players recover more quickly and efficiency between practices and competition. To donate, click here.