Buffalo Bulls Women’s Basketball: Cassie Oursler granted season of competition waiver

UB Athletics has announced today that senior center Cassie Oursler has been granted a season of competition waiver by the NCAA. Thanks to the waiver, Oursler will now have another year of eligibility with the women’s basketball team after this season.

Oursler started her NCAA career at Robert Morris University, where she averaged 7.4 points per game and 5 rebounds per game while also getting All-NEC rookie honors. That season was highlighted by the Colonials making the NCAA tournament. Coming into the 2014-15 season, the Western New York native decided on transferring to Buffalo after playing two games for RMU. Due to NCAA transfer rules, she was forced to sit out a year of competition.

This upcoming season appeared to be Oursler’s last due to her initial attempt at the waiver being denied last season, meaning she would have lost a year of eligibility to sitting out. UB’s Kelly Cruttenden — who continues to prove how brilliant of an asset she is to the department — and the rest of compliance felt otherwise and chose to appeal the decision. Another season of Oursler donning the blue and white only strengthens the outlook of a 2017-18 edition of the Bulls that will have a senior class highlighted by Mariah Suchan and the Australian-Four.

In her first season playing for UB, Oursler averaged 8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game. Her insertion into the lineup last winter was crucial in the running up to the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth as she provided another option to a struggling offense. If she can continue to minimize the amount of hacking fouls she commits and develop even more offense, she has a strong chance at being a premier center in the MAC.