BUFFALO — Behind a monster double-double, 15 points and 17 rebounds, by freshman Summer Hemphill, the University at Buffalo women’s basketball team (19-7, 9-6 MAC) won their third straight Mid-American Conference game on Wednesday night at Alumni Arena as they raced by the Ohio Bobcats, 65-54. With the win, UB has matched their division I program record for home wins with 12 on the season, owning a 12-3 record at Alumni Arena.
Hemphill was a monster on the glass all game long as she netted her team-leading fourth double-double of the season while tying a career-high with 15 points and setting a career-best with 17 rebounds. The 17 rebounds by Hemphill are the most by a freshman in program history and the most in a game for the Bulls since January 27, 2010 when Kourtney Brown snagged 18 boards against Toledo. The freshman also added three blocks and two steals across a career-high 31 minutes of action.
The Buffalo defense proved to be the difference in the game on Wednesday night as they held the Bobcats to just 30.8% shooting for the game including 23.3% from behind the arc as they improved to 15-0 this season when holding their opponents to under 59 points. Buffalo improved to 16-0 this season when shooting a higher percentage from the floor than their opponents. The Bulls forced 12 Ohio turnovers that they turned into 13 points the other way. UB also collected a season-high 11 blocks in the game, led by Cassie Oursler who notched four, her second straight game with at least four blocked shots.
After the Bobcats opened up a 5-2 lead early on in the game, the Bulls responded quickly with six straight points as JoAnna Smith capped the run with a deep triple to give UB the 8-5 lead. Over the next five minutes Ohio went on an 11-4 run to take over the 16-12 lead as Quiera Lampkins got into the lane for a layup. Stephanie Reid was able to connect on four straight points before Taylor Agler beat the buzzer with a jumper to give the Bobcats the slim 18-16 edge through 10 minutes.
The Bobcats opened up a five-point lead just over a minute into the second quarter as Kelly Karlis connected on a contested three pointer to make the score 23-18 in favor of the visitors. The Bulls however, stormed right back as Mariah Suchan capped a 13-2 run by the Bulls with an offensive rebound and layup to make the score 31-25 in favor of the Bulls. Smith connected on a pair of triples and Reid converted a three-point play as she made a layup and finished off the free throw during the UB run. The Bobcats cut the six-point deficit to three at the half as Karlis connected on a triple with five seconds remaining as UB went to the locker room leading 34-31.
Ohio was able to start quick in the third quarter once again as they opened on a 8-3 run to regain the lead, 39-37 with 5:21 left in the quarter. Buffalo responded nicely to the adversity as Smith drilled a jumper and Reid knocked down a triple and a layup to give UB the five-point lead, 44-39. After three straight by the Bobcats, UB closed out the low-scoring third quarter with a pair of Hemphill free throws to take the 46-42 edge into the final quarter.
The Bulls put together their best quarter of the game when it mattered most in the fourth as they were able to outscored the Bobcats 19-12. Buffalo opened the quarter on an 6-0 run as Oursler, Smith and Hemphill each notched buckets to take the 52-42 edge. Midway through the final frame Ohio cut the UB lead to six, 54-48 on a pair of Quiera Lampkins free throws but the Bulls fought back and went on a 7-1 run powered by four points from Reid and three by Hemphill to push their lead back to double figures. A Hemphill layup off of a Reid feed gave the Bulls their biggest lead of the night, 64-51, with just two minutes to play and the Bulls coasted to their third straight win on Wednesday night.
Reid had another strong game running the point for the Bulls as she netted 21 points, nine assists and five rebounds while playing all 40 minutes. The junior moved into fourth place on the Bulls all-time assists charts as she has racked up 433 career assists for UB. She also sits in second place in program history for assists in a season as she has notched a career-high 196 assists this season. Reid has notched at least eight assists in
Smith capped her impressive night with 18 points, three rebounds and two steals across 40 minutes of action. She finished the game going 3-for-6 from behind the arc as she has now connected on at least three triples in a game in 34 of her last 62 games for the Bulls. With her 12th point of the night, the senior moved into eighth place on the Bulls all-time scoring charts as she passed former teammate and current assistant coach Kristen Sharkey. Smith has accumulated 1,271 career points, just five points shy of seventh place on the all-time list.
Junior center Cassie Oursler continued her steady play down low for the Bulls as she netted nine points, six rebounds and four blocks in the win over the Bobcats. Katherine Ups finished off her night with five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals across 32 minutes of action.
For the game, UB held the Bobcats to just 30.8% shooting while shooting 36.4% from the floor themselves. Buffalo won the rebounding battle for the 19th time this season, improving to 16-3 in those games, as they held the 45-35 edge. They also grabbed 15 offensive rebounds which they turned into 13 second chance points while outscoring the Bobcats 13-10 off of turnovers.
Buffalo will close out their regular season home slate on Saturday afternoon as they welcome the Bowling Green Falcons at 1:00 pm. The game will air live on ESPN3 with Paul Peck and Amy Audibert on the call. Prior to the game, the Bulls will honor their lone senior JoAnna Smith as part of Senior Day at Alumni Arena.
from UBBulls.com via IFTTT
