Bulls overwhelm Canisius

The UB Women’s Basketball team ran away from cross-town rival Canisius, 87–45, behind strong play in almost all phases of the game. UB is now 2–1 on the season. The Bulls will play at Purdue on Wednesday, December 9.

Sophomore guard Dyaisha Fair led the Bulls in scoring again, with 17 points, but three other Bulls scored in double figures. Junior forward Ade Adeyeye had 15 points (in 16 minutes), junior center Elea Gaba had 13 points (in just 10 minutes), and senior forward Summer Hemphill had 11 points (in 11 minutes).

Hemphill, who was named pre-season 2nd Team All-MAC, made her first appearance for UB in this season, after missing all of the previous season due to injury. She looked very mobile and athletic, and not the least bit rusty. Hemphill rebounded well, made space for herself to get off her shots, and often dribbled the ball aggressively down the lane or dribbled the ball upcourt from the backcourt. She shot 4-for-6 and had six rebounds and two steals.

Buffalo dominated on the boards against a much shorter Canisius team, with 54 rebounds (led by 9 from Adeyeye and 6 from Fair, Hemphill and junior forward Keowa Walters) to 20 for Canisius. The Bulls passed well and penetrated well, and shot 51% from the floor, led by Adeyeye who was 6-for-6, while holding Canisius to just 31%.

Notes:

• Freshman guard Sophia Öjhammar got her first start as a collegiate player. Sophomore forward Loren Christie got her first start of the year.
• Freshman guard Cheyenne McEvans had 9 points or 3-for-3 shooting, one of them a three pointer. Walters had 8 points.
• Freshman guard Rama Keïta got her first extended playing time of the season (she earlier had appeared against James Madison in the game’s last seconds) and scored her first collegiate basket.
• It was the first game of the year for Canisius and their only non-conference game on the schedule.