Saturday, February 3
Buffalo, NY
6:00pm
12-8,6-4MAC
75
vs
63
Eastern Michigan
5-15,2-8MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Eastern Mich.
14
7
23
19
63
Buffalo
14
24
17
20
75
Photo by: Paul Hokanson/UBBulls.com
Bulls Soar to Double Digit Win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday
2/3/2024 8:58:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo women's basketball team led for all but 34 seconds, courtesy of solid play on both ends of the floor, in a 75-63 win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Arena.
The Bulls were led offensively by redshirt senior guard Chellia Watson who recorded her second carer double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds while freshman guard Kirsten Lewis-Williams tied her career-high with 21 points to go with a career-best eight assists. Senior Rana Elhusseini also scored in double figures with 13 points while Alexis Davis narrowly missed out on double figures with eight points.
The Bulls were aggressive early, scoring four points from the free throw line and eight in the paint, to take a 10-4 lead at the first media timeout, but the Eagles hit a three to spark an 8-2 run to close the quarter and tie the game at 14 at the end of the first.
The Bulls turned defense into offense to open the second quarter on an 11-2 run, capped by a triple from Elhusseini, a beautiful dish from Lewis-Williams to Sitota Gines and a fastbreak layup by Watson, to put UB up 25-16 and force an EMU timeout at the 6:56 mark. The Bulls continued to attack as Watson scored in the paint and Lewis-Williams followed with a big and-one bucket through contact to put Buffalo up by 14 and they would extend their run to 19-2 on a spot up triple by Elhusseini to take a 17-point lead with four minutes remaining. Later, Hattie Ogden drilled a triple from the wing and Lewis-Williams drove hard to the basket for a layup to put UB up by 20 and they would lead 38-21 at the half.
The teams traded baskets early in the third quarter, before Lewis-Williams got to the rim and beautiful ball movement led to an Ogden three to put UB up by 17. Later, Gines came up with a steal and Watson converted the fastbreak layup to give Buffalo a 47-28 lead and force an EMU timeout at the 6:15 mark. Lewis-Williams and Watson continued to do damage in the paint with a pair of driving layups to put UB up by 21 but the Eagles closed the quarter on a 14-4 run to trim the Buffalo lead to 55-44 at the end of the third.
Eastern Michigan cut the lead to nine early in the fourth quarter, but the Bulls responded with a 7-0 run, capped by an Elhusseini triple, to go up by 15 but the Eagles answered with an and-one bucket to cut the lead to 12 at the media timeout. The teams traded baskets for several minutes before the Eagles clawed within 10 with 52 seconds to go but that would be as close as they would get as Elhusseini and Lewis-Williams went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in the finals seconds to secure the victory.
The Bulls stayed even on the glass with a big and physical Eagles squad while also maintaining a 40-36 edge in the paint. UB continues to turn defense into offense as they scored 20 points off 15 EMU miscues while also adding 19 fastbreak points.
"Proud of our team effort tonight to get another MAC win," said head coach Becky Burke. "Each one is so important and hard earned. We were well balanced once again and I think that is key for us moving forward. Really happy for our squad and looking forward to the next one."
Up next, Buffalo travels to Oxford, Ohio for a contest at Miami (OH) on Wednesday, February 7 at 7pm.
The Bulls were led offensively by redshirt senior guard Chellia Watson who recorded her second carer double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds while freshman guard Kirsten Lewis-Williams tied her career-high with 21 points to go with a career-best eight assists. Senior Rana Elhusseini also scored in double figures with 13 points while Alexis Davis narrowly missed out on double figures with eight points.
The Bulls were aggressive early, scoring four points from the free throw line and eight in the paint, to take a 10-4 lead at the first media timeout, but the Eagles hit a three to spark an 8-2 run to close the quarter and tie the game at 14 at the end of the first.
The Bulls turned defense into offense to open the second quarter on an 11-2 run, capped by a triple from Elhusseini, a beautiful dish from Lewis-Williams to Sitota Gines and a fastbreak layup by Watson, to put UB up 25-16 and force an EMU timeout at the 6:56 mark. The Bulls continued to attack as Watson scored in the paint and Lewis-Williams followed with a big and-one bucket through contact to put Buffalo up by 14 and they would extend their run to 19-2 on a spot up triple by Elhusseini to take a 17-point lead with four minutes remaining. Later, Hattie Ogden drilled a triple from the wing and Lewis-Williams drove hard to the basket for a layup to put UB up by 20 and they would lead 38-21 at the half.
The teams traded baskets early in the third quarter, before Lewis-Williams got to the rim and beautiful ball movement led to an Ogden three to put UB up by 17. Later, Gines came up with a steal and Watson converted the fastbreak layup to give Buffalo a 47-28 lead and force an EMU timeout at the 6:15 mark. Lewis-Williams and Watson continued to do damage in the paint with a pair of driving layups to put UB up by 21 but the Eagles closed the quarter on a 14-4 run to trim the Buffalo lead to 55-44 at the end of the third.
Eastern Michigan cut the lead to nine early in the fourth quarter, but the Bulls responded with a 7-0 run, capped by an Elhusseini triple, to go up by 15 but the Eagles answered with an and-one bucket to cut the lead to 12 at the media timeout. The teams traded baskets for several minutes before the Eagles clawed within 10 with 52 seconds to go but that would be as close as they would get as Elhusseini and Lewis-Williams went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in the finals seconds to secure the victory.
The Bulls stayed even on the glass with a big and physical Eagles squad while also maintaining a 40-36 edge in the paint. UB continues to turn defense into offense as they scored 20 points off 15 EMU miscues while also adding 19 fastbreak points.
"Proud of our team effort tonight to get another MAC win," said head coach Becky Burke. "Each one is so important and hard earned. We were well balanced once again and I think that is key for us moving forward. Really happy for our squad and looking forward to the next one."
Up next, Buffalo travels to Oxford, Ohio for a contest at Miami (OH) on Wednesday, February 7 at 7pm.
Team Stats
EMU
UB
FG%
.424
.435
3FG%
.235
.278
FT%
.474
.800
RB
38
38
TO
15
11
STL
7
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
9
Pts
21
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's BasketballGuard
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