Purdue Stops UB Women

It was a bad omen for the Bulls, when Purdue’s Madison Layden knocked down a three pointer on Purdue’s first offensive possession. The Boilermakers had shot 1-for-28 from downtown during their first two games of the season, but against Buffalo, they were red hot finishing 11-for-19 from the three point line. Coupled with a noticeable Purdue height advantage, Purdue handed the Bulls an 82–70 loss.

The biggest news from the game was an apparent knee injury to senior forward Summer Hemphill, who drove the length of the court in the third quarter with 5:20 left, only to come up lame. It appeared to be the same knee that Hemphill had injured and caused her to miss all of last year. It had been an effective game so far for Hemphill, who had used her athleticism to score a dozen points against the taller Boilermakers.

Earlier in the third quarter, sophomore guard Dyaisha Fair appeared to injure her ankle on a drive to the basket, and had to leave the game. And so, with Buffalo down by 19 midway through the third quarter, no Dyaisha Fair, no Summer Hemphill and junior forward Ade Adeyeye on the bench with four fouls, to paraphrase Ernest Lawrence Thayer, the outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Buffalo five that day.

And then the Bulls outscored the Boilermakers the rest of the way, led by very strong performances by freshman guard Cheyenne McEvans and sophomore center Elea Gaba. McEvans, who had scored zero points in the first half, wound up with 16 points, coming on drives to the basket as well as two three pointers and 6-fo-9 from the free throw line. McEvans also had three assists, four rebounds and a steal.

The 6-3 Gaba used her size to score around the basket, with 11 points of 5-for-7 shooting in the second half, in 16 minutes of playing time before fouling out. Gaba had scored just one point in the first half.

Notes:

• Fair would return briefly in the fourth quarter, but was limping noticeably, and just didn’t have the speed that she usually has. She only scored 5 points. Even before her injury, unlike earlier games, the offense didn’t run through her, as Purdue’s defense limited her effectiveness and limited her touches.
• Adeyeye was effective around the basket, finishing with 10 points and 5 rebounds (all of them offensive rebounds), but fouled out and only played 20 minutes.
• The Bulls committed 21 turnovers including 13 in the first half. Purdue committed 26 turnovers. Purdue’s rebounding advantage was 36-32 over Buffalo, and considering their size advantage, a relatively strong performance by Buffalo on the boards.