Wednesday, March 6
Buffalo, NY
6:00pm
17-11,10-7MAC
77
vs
68
Central Michigan
6-21,4-12MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Central Mich.
16
19
5
28
68
Buffalo
20
22
17
18
77
Photo by: Paul Hokanson/UBBulls.com
Elhusseini Flirts With History as Bulls Defeat Central Michigan, 77-68, on Wednesday
3/6/2024 8:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY – Senior guard Rana Elhusseini was one rebound shy of her second triple-double of the year as she helped lead the University at Buffalo women's basketball team (17-11, 10-7 MAC) to a big bounce back win over Central Michigan on Wednesday night at Alumni Arena.
Elhusseini finished the night with 14 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists while Chellia Watson recorded a game-high 26 points to go with six assists. The freshman duo of Alexis Davis and Kirsten Lewis-Williams also shined on the night, with the former narrowly missing out on a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds and the latter stuffing the stat sheet with 12 points, four rebounds and four assists.
It was a slow start to the game for both teams before Elhusseini gave the Bulls a spark, draining back-to-back threes, and Watson followed with a floater in the lane to put UB up by four, but the Chippewas scored on two straight possessions to cut the lead to two at the media timeout. Watson and Elhusseini continued to attack as they scored on a pair of buckets in the lane before Watson drilled a step back triple to give the Bulls a 20-16 lead at the end of the first.
Central Michigan got hot from deep as they connected on a pair of threes to retake the lead early in the second quarter. Watson and Paula Lopez got to the rack for layups and Davis banked home a jumper in the paint to put UB back on top, but the Chippewas answered with an 8-2 lead to take a 32-31 lead at the media timeout. Watson scored out of the timeout and then Sitota Gines raced up the floor for a fastbreak layup and Lewis-Williams spun through traffic to get the bucket plus the foul to put UB up by four and they would lead 42-35 at the half.
The Buffalo defense continued to clamp down as they held Central Michigan to just one point in four minutes to open the third quarter as they maintained an eight-point lead at the six-minute mark. Lewis-Williams put her defender in the spin cycle and finished off glass for a layup before Davis drove strong to the rim and got the and-one bucket to go and Watson added a bucket in the paint to put UB up by 12 at the media timeout. The Bulls then turned defense into offense as Elhusseini got a steal and hit Lewis-Williams for a fastbreak layup before Watson drilled a deep triple to put UB up 55-38 and force a CMU timeout with just under two minutes remaining. The defense continued to turn it up a notch as Gines came up with a steal and found Elhusseini for a layup as the Bulls outscored the visitors 17-5 to take a 59-40 lead at the end of the third.
Elhusseini found a cutting Watson for a layup and then the senior dished out another dime, this time to Davis for a bucket, to put Buffalo up by 20 and force a CMU timeout early in the fourth quarter. Davis, Lewis-Williams and Watson scored in the paint on three straight possessions to give UB its largest lead of the game, 71-50, with four minutes remaining and that was more than enough to secure the victory.
Buffalo dominated inside, scoring a season-high 56 points in the paint. The UB defense stifled the Chippewas as they forced the visitors into 18 turnovers, which they converted into 17 points while also adding 13 points off fastbreak opportunities. The Bulls shared the basketball at an efficient rate as they recorded 27 assists to just eight turnovers. The 27 assists are the second highest total in a single-game in the program's Division I era.
Up next, Buffalo will close out the regular season on Saturday, March 9 as they welcome Ball State to Alumni Arena on Senior Day.
Elhusseini finished the night with 14 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists while Chellia Watson recorded a game-high 26 points to go with six assists. The freshman duo of Alexis Davis and Kirsten Lewis-Williams also shined on the night, with the former narrowly missing out on a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds and the latter stuffing the stat sheet with 12 points, four rebounds and four assists.
It was a slow start to the game for both teams before Elhusseini gave the Bulls a spark, draining back-to-back threes, and Watson followed with a floater in the lane to put UB up by four, but the Chippewas scored on two straight possessions to cut the lead to two at the media timeout. Watson and Elhusseini continued to attack as they scored on a pair of buckets in the lane before Watson drilled a step back triple to give the Bulls a 20-16 lead at the end of the first.
Central Michigan got hot from deep as they connected on a pair of threes to retake the lead early in the second quarter. Watson and Paula Lopez got to the rack for layups and Davis banked home a jumper in the paint to put UB back on top, but the Chippewas answered with an 8-2 lead to take a 32-31 lead at the media timeout. Watson scored out of the timeout and then Sitota Gines raced up the floor for a fastbreak layup and Lewis-Williams spun through traffic to get the bucket plus the foul to put UB up by four and they would lead 42-35 at the half.
The Buffalo defense continued to clamp down as they held Central Michigan to just one point in four minutes to open the third quarter as they maintained an eight-point lead at the six-minute mark. Lewis-Williams put her defender in the spin cycle and finished off glass for a layup before Davis drove strong to the rim and got the and-one bucket to go and Watson added a bucket in the paint to put UB up by 12 at the media timeout. The Bulls then turned defense into offense as Elhusseini got a steal and hit Lewis-Williams for a fastbreak layup before Watson drilled a deep triple to put UB up 55-38 and force a CMU timeout with just under two minutes remaining. The defense continued to turn it up a notch as Gines came up with a steal and found Elhusseini for a layup as the Bulls outscored the visitors 17-5 to take a 59-40 lead at the end of the third.
Elhusseini found a cutting Watson for a layup and then the senior dished out another dime, this time to Davis for a bucket, to put Buffalo up by 20 and force a CMU timeout early in the fourth quarter. Davis, Lewis-Williams and Watson scored in the paint on three straight possessions to give UB its largest lead of the game, 71-50, with four minutes remaining and that was more than enough to secure the victory.
Buffalo dominated inside, scoring a season-high 56 points in the paint. The UB defense stifled the Chippewas as they forced the visitors into 18 turnovers, which they converted into 17 points while also adding 13 points off fastbreak opportunities. The Bulls shared the basketball at an efficient rate as they recorded 27 assists to just eight turnovers. The 27 assists are the second highest total in a single-game in the program's Division I era.
Up next, Buffalo will close out the regular season on Saturday, March 9 as they welcome Ball State to Alumni Arena on Senior Day.
Team Stats
CMU
UB
FG%
.373
.447
3FG%
.308
.250
FT%
.625
.625
RB
49
41
TO
18
8
STL
3
9
Game Leaders
Pts
26
FGM
12
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballGuard
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