BUFFALO — Another balanced scoring attack powered the University at Buffalo women’s basketball team (9-0, 0-0 MAC) to their ninth straight win to open the season as they defeated Big 4 foe St. Bonaventure 68-47 on Wednesday afternoon at Alumni Arena in front of 1,624 fans. With the win, the Bulls set their program record for the best start to a season, 9-0, while also notching wins over the other three Big 4 schools for the first time since 2014-15.
Buffalo has now won two of their last three games against the Bonnies while improving to 7-0 at Alumni Arena, matching the best start at home since the 2000-01 season.
The Bulls continued to use their depth to their advantage on Wednesday afternoon as all 13 UB players notched at least five minutes of playing time while 12 grabbed a rebound and 10 UB players scored at least one basket. UB was led offensively by Cassie Oursler who finished off her game with 12 points and five rebounds while junior point guard Stephanie Reid continued her high level of play with 10 points, eight assists, three rebounds and three steals across a team-high 25 minutes of action. JoAnna Smith scored in double figures once again for the Bulls as she netted 11 points, five rebounds and two steals in the Bulls ninth straight win.
The Bulls opened up the game quick as they raced out to a 13-4 advantage to force a quick St. Bonaventure timeout just over five minutes into the game. Oursler opened the scoring with an offensive rebound and layup before Smith and Katherine Ups each netted layups to make it 6-4. After Oursler and Reid each finished off layups, Gabi Bade forced the Bonnies to take a timeout as she took a Reid feed and buried a three pointer on the fast break, making it 13-4. After the Bonnies cut the UB lead to seven, Smith buried her only three of the game to make it 18-8 before Brittany Morrison came off the bench and finished the scoring with a layup, giving UB the 20-12 edge after 10 minutes.
Buffalo used a spread offense in the second quarter as they were able to outscore the Bonnies 16-15 in the quarter. The Bulls opened up the second quarter on a 10-4 run that was capped by a Theresa Onwuka free throw. UB had six different players score during the 10-4 run to open the quarter. Leading 30-16 with 4:03 left in the first half, the Bonnies were able to get some momentum going into the locker room as they went on a 11-6 run of their own to close out the first half, trailing UB 36-27.
The Bulls were able to put the game away in the third quarter as they have in multiple games so far this season. After Oursler and Mariah Ruff traded layups, the Bulls went on a 21-4 run to take control of the game as they extended their lead out to 59-33, their biggest lead of the game. The impressive run by the Bulls was spurred by great play from Reid and sophomore Ayoleka Sodade who netted four quick points and notched a steal that led to a Reid fast break layup. UB closed out the third quarter with the 59-35 lead after outscoring the Bonnies 23-8.
The UB bench was able to get some well-deserved playing time in the final quarter as Brittany Morrison and Liisa Ups each netted a bucket to open the quarter. Onwuka netted a pretty running layup in the lane before Morrison closed out the scoring with a free throw and jumper as the Bulls cruised to the 68-47 victory.
Morrison led the Buffalo bench with nine points, four rebounds and two steals in 18 minutes of work while Bade finished off her strong game with five points, a season-high seven rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes of action. Freshman Summer Hemphill continued her strong play with eight points, six rebounds and one block as she has now notched at least one block in six straight contests for the Bulls.
For the game, the Bulls shot 39.7% from the floor while they held the Bonnies to just 34.6% as UB improved to 7-0 this season and 24-1 over the past two seasons when shooting a higher percentage from the floor than their opponent. The Bulls also took care of the ball as they only turned the ball over eight times while they forced 19 St. Bonaventure turnovers that they turned into 20 points. UB won the rebounding battle once again, 45-33, while also grabbing 13 offensive rebounds that they turned into 19 second chance points, compared to the three offensive rebounds for zero points by the Bonnies.
The Buffalo bench finished off their afternoon with 31 points while the Bonnies only received nine from their bench players. The Bulls won the battle of paint scoring, 43-22, while also holding the 9-2 edge in fast break scoring.
The Bulls will now have eight days off for the Holidays before returning to the court on Thursday, December 29 at 12:00 pm against Fordham in the Fordham Holiday Classic. The winner of Thursday’s match between the Bulls and Rams will take on the winner of the Harvard vs. UNC Asheville game on Friday afternoon.
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