Buffalo Bulls Women’s Basketball Recap: Ladies have no problem taking down Division II Bloomsburg. Final Score: 65-45

In their first game back in Alumni since winning a home playoff game in March, the UB Women picked up right where they left off. The Bulls never forfeited the lead over the Bloomsburg Huskies and played the gritty defense they are known for. By the time the second half rolled around, Buffalo cruised to a 65-45 win.

The first quarter was the Bulls’ best quarter of the game. UB outscored Bloomsburg 22-9 thanks to scoring from some pleasant surprises. JoAnna Smith quickly knocked down two threes, but it was Liisa Ups and Mariah Suchan giving the Bulls an extra edge. Buffalo shot 47% from the field and a whopping 57% from beyond the arc.

Smith continued to lead the way in the second quarter as she dropped another 5. Katherine Ups had a field day drawing fouls and picked up 5 points from the charity stripe without even getting a bucket. With the game easily in hand, the Bulls confidently went into the half with a 39-17 lead. From then on, the Bulls played with their advantage and tried their hand at some different lineups. UB’s starters had very limited minutes as the game was practically over.

JoAnna Smith began her senior campaign with a team best of 14 points despite only playing for 20 minutes. It was the least amount of time she’s played since the Daemen exhibition of last year. We’ll see how she does with heavier minutes next week.

Among the other performances, Mariah Suchan and Stephanie Reid played extremely well. Suchan finished the night with 9 points and her defense looked second to none. She also did an amazing job at staying out of foul trouble, only picking up a single foul. As for Reid, she did a great job at generating assists despite the shortage of minutes. The Junior hauled in 6 assists and didn’t turn the ball once.

Of the three freshman this year, Buffalo saw two of them in action tonight. Summer Hemphill did an amazing job in the post, picking up 5 points and 8 rebounds. Hemphill brings a ton of physicality and energy to the table. Theresa Onwuka had only four points in her debut, but the driving ability she showed sure looked promising.

The Bulls stay at UB this week thanks to their home heavy non-conference schedule. They’re back in action on this upcoming Friday, November 11th at 7:00 PM. The game will air on ESPN3.

More will be said on this game later.