Buffalo Bulls vs. UMass Women's Basketball Takeaways

Three and oh for the first time in 15 years, and we can't publish a takeaways piece in timely fashion.

John's Takeaways

1. Monday to Friday, still good on Saturday

It's no secret that Stephanie Reid is an excellent basketball player and it's also no secret that she's one of the key cogs that keeps the UB offense running. She finished with 10 points, 6 assists and 3 rebounds and has been a big part of UB's 3-0 run to start the season. I can't really say much that hasn't been said about Reid, other than that the UMass announcers nickname for her "the Thunder from Down Under" pales in comparison to our "Monday to Friday" moniker.

2. This girl is on fire

While I have generally been displeased with the women's team's over-reliance on the 3 point shot, Joanna Smith came out on fire against UMass and showed why she'll be counted on as UB's primary scoring threat. She finished the game 4 of 7 from downtown and with a new career high 21 points.

3. 3-0!!!

The last time the UB Women's Basketball team started a season 3-0 was in the 2000-2001 season and I was in first grade, I'm now a 21 year old college senior. Let that sink in. FLJ has her team playing tremendous defense and getting just enough offense to keeping winning games.

Player of the Game: Joanna Smith

A pretty easy call on this one, Smith was solid from downtown (4-7) and she set a new career high in points (21) to springboard the Bulls to their first 3-0 start since the 00-01 season.

Matt's Takes

1. This defense.

I wish I had paid to watch this game, because facing their biggest test yet, UB's defense locked down once again, holding UMass below their season average by more than 20 points. Remember how young this team is, and that Karin Moss and Camera Mikey aren't playing super significant minutes as upperclassmen.

2. Still a drop off to the second group

This is mostly on offense, but the last few games have seen UB lose some momentum when most of the starters are on the floor. I'd like to see that group turn the balll over less

Player of the game: Joanna Smith

UMass was never really out of it, but Smith was the biggest offensive threat in the game, scoring timely points in addition to scoring plenty.