Bulls Defeat Central Michigan on Saturday for First MAC Win

Saturday, January 6

Mount Pleasant, MI

1:00pm

7-5,1-1MAC

Central Michigan

1-10,0-2MAC

Buffalo

Central Mich.

Photo by: Paul Hokanson/UBBulls.com

Bulls Defeat Central Michigan on Saturday for First MAC Win

1/6/2024 4:18:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

MOUNT PLEASANT, MI – The University at Buffalo women's basketball team (7-5, 1-1 MAC) defeated Central Michigan 77-69 for their first MAC win on Saturday afternoon at McGuirk Arena.

Four Bulls scored in double figures, led by Chellia Watson who scored a game-high 26 points to go with a team-high eight rebounds on her birthday. Senior Rana Elhusseini was perfect on the afternoon, going 5-for-5 from the floor, including 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, for 15 points to go with a team-best four assists. Freshman Kirsten Lewis-Williams scored 15 points to go with six rebounds while sophomore Hattie Ogden also scored in double figures with 13 points, including 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc.

The Chippewas opened the game on an 11-3 run before Elhusseini drained a three from the top of the key to pull UB within five at the media timeout. Elhusseini drilled a spot up three out of the break before Ogden got going with a triple of her own to tie the game at 16 at the 2:06 mark. Central Michigan scored on two straight possessions to go up by four before Elhusseini answered with her third triple of the quarter to pull UB within one at the end of the first.

Offense was at a premium early in the second quarter, but Alexis Davis gave the Bulls a lift as she grabbed an offensive rebound and powered up for two off glass before Watson went on a 5-0 run by herself, capped by a pull up three, to give the Bulls a 29-24 lead and force a CMU timeout at the 6:20 mark. Later, Ogden hit Lewis-Williams on the block, and she finished through contact for a layup and then the freshman took it herself on the next possession, getting the bucket plus the foul to put Buffalo up six at the 3:28 mark. After the Chippewas hit a three, Watson sliced to the basket for two and Ogden followed with a triple from the top of the key to give Buffalo its largest lead of the first half, but CMU converted an and-one bucket in the final seconds to cut the UB lead to 41-36 at the break.

The Bulls came out of the locker room aggressive, scoring on their first two possessions of the third quarter to force an early CMU timeout. Later, Watson came away with a loose ball and drained a three before she came up with the steal and scored in transition to put UB up by 12 at the 7:42 mark and they would lead 54-44 at the media timeout. Buffalo continued to lock down on defense as Elhusseini came up with a steal and found Watson for a fastbreak layup before Ogden drained a three and Lewis-Williams hit Davis for a transition layup to spark a 7-2 run and give the Bulls a 61-52 lead at the end of the third.

Central Michigan cut the lead to six early in the fourth quarter before Lewis-Williams and Elhusseini sliced through the defense for a pair of layups to put UB back up by 10 at the final media timeout. Ogden gave the Bulls a spark as she drained a deep three from the win to give the Bulls a 13-point lead, but the Chippewas answered with a 9-0 run to cut the lead to four with 90 seconds to go but Buffalo came up clutch, going 7-for-8 from the charity stripe to close out the game and seal the victory.

Buffalo turned defense into offense as they forced CMU into 15 turnovers, scoring 18 points off those miscues. The Bulls also battled inside, scoring 36 points in the paint, and on the glass, converting 12 offensive rebounds into 14 second chance points.

"Our team came out ready to play today," said head coach Becky Burke. "They were poised, executed extremely well when they needed to, and followed the game plan to perfection. I'm really proud of their effort today and no one deserves this feeling more than these players."

Up next, Buffalo will close out the road swing in Muncie with a clash against the Ball State Cardinals on Wednesday, January 10. Tipoff from Worthen Arena is set for 6:30pm.