Women’s Basketball Blows Out Daemen in Exhibition

In the season opening exhbition game against Daemen College, the UB Women’s Basketball team encountered little opposition. They led 23–8 after the first quarter, 50–16 at halftime and wound up with a 98–43 victory.

So, instead of the usual game description, we’ll just focus on certain players and certain plays.

Junior guard Dyaisha Fair did what Dyaisha Fair does. She had 16 points in the first half, with quick bursts of speed to the basket, and sharp outside shooting, including a fast-break running three pointer at the halftime buzzer. She finished with 20 points and 8 assists.

Fifth year forward Summer Hemphill gave everyone a scare when she limped off the court with 7:35 left in the first quarter. But she returned a few minutes later and put in a typical Summer Hemphill performance, finishing with 17 points on 8-for-11 shooting, and a team high 8 rebounds.

Freshman guard Georgia Woolley was the first newcomer off the bench for coach Felisha Legette-Jack, but the anticipated (by me, anyway) barrage of three pointers from Woolley didn’t materialize in the first half. In fact, Woolley didn’t score in the first half. And in the third quarter, Woolley only scored on two free-throws. But in the fourth quarter, Woolley made three 3-pointers in a row in a span of less than 2 minutes on the game clock, and 4-out-of-5, to finish with 14 points, plus 4 steals and a blocked shot. Woolley quickly became a fan favorite.

The Bulls also got familiar strong performances from junior forward Loren Christie (8 pts, 5 reb), senior guard Jazmine Young (6 pts) and sophomore guard Cheyenne McEvans (8 pts, 5 reb). Sophomore forward Rama Keita had 5 rebounds and three assists in just 10 minutes. Senior forward Ade Adeyeye had 10 points in 19 minutes.

Several of the other newcomers provided strong efforts off the bench. Junior guard Dominique Camp had 8 points and 4 assists in just 14 minutes. Camp also produced the Play of the Game™ when on a fast break, she made a no-look bounce pass to Hemphill, who scored the easy layup. Junior guard Nia Jordan had 5 points in 10 minutes.

Notes:

• Freshman forward Saniaa Wilson was not in uniform because of an injury. A little more about Wilson: as a senior in high school, she was ranked as the 18th best player at her position by ESPN. She originally signed with Seton Hall, but in August 2021, just three months ago, she transferred to Buffalo. Scuttlebutt says that some players are saying Wilson is already the best player on the team. If so, she would join a long line of outstanding UB players from the Rochester, NY area. And on the digital program for tonight’s game, the cover photo is Saniaa Wilson.
• Sophomore guard Casey Valenti-Paea was also not in uniform, recovering from an injury. Junior center Elea Gaba was not present tonight, recovering after a recent surgery.
• Freshman forward Laney Bone and freshman forward Kaelonn Wilson were both in uniform, but did not get any playing time.
• Referee Maggie Tieman wore a face mask during the entire game. The other two officials did not.