Buffalo Bulls vs. Central Michigan Chippewas Women's Basketball: Strong Defense, Bench Scoring Help UB Break 6 Game Losing Streak to CMU

Wednesday night's MAC contest between the UB Bulls and the CMU Chippewas was a clash between one of the top scoring offenses in the conference and one of the top scoring defenses in the conference. UB was able to parlay a strong first half to a 67-61 victory - UB's first over the Chippewa's since the 2010-11 season .

The momentum in the game greatly shifted in UB's favor during the second quarter when the held the Chippewas to a measly 9 points thanks to a strong defensive effort led by Cassie Oursler. The Bulls held the Chippewas to a meager 21.1 percent from beyond the arc and held a team that averaged nearly 74 points per game to only 61.

After Joanna Smith exploded for 17 points and 8 rebounds in the first half the CMU defense swarmed her and held her scoreless in the second half outside of a quartet of free throws. Cassie Oursler was also held scoreless in the 2nd half leaving UB to lean on the remainder of the roster to pick up the slack. Freshman Gabi Bade provided a much needed spark off of the UB bench, however, draining a pair of three pointers and getting two strips in the backcourt resulting in an easy layup and a pair of free throws for the Bulls - Bade would finish the contest in double digits with 10 points.

Bade wasn't the only freshman that provided a spark of the bench for the Bulls with Brittany Morrison providing 13 points and 10 rebounds good for 2nd and 1st on the team respectively. Morrison's final field goal was a breakaway layup that sealed the victory for the Bulls. Stephanie Reid had a typical Stephanie Reid game with 7 points and 7 assists after a couple of sub-par outings for her - she nailed 2 high pressure free throws near the end of regulation to put UB at a 2 possession advantage. Freshman Mirte Scheper also provided a strong effort off of the bench even if it didn't show up in the final box score.

Freshman Presley Hudson led the way for the Chippewas with 23 points.

Big credit to the UB women - they've had issues going on cold shooting streaks late in games and they managed to overcome a 4th quarter cold streak and Joanna Smith and Oursler being shut out. This was a quality win over a quality conference opponent that they hadn't beaten in their last 6 attempts.

UB is now 8-0 when leading going into the 4th quarter of games and have now evened their MAC record at 1-1 and are now 9-4 overall. They will have a few days rest before heading to Kent to take on the Golden Flashes.