Buffalo Bulls Women’s Basketball pulverizes Ohio’s offense, wins 65-54

Déjà Vu.

I don’t know what it is about that late February air, but it sure does wonders for UB Basketball. After breezing by Akron and eking it out with Eastern Michigan, the Bulls had all the momentum on their side in Alumni Arena for a matchup with Ohio. Looking like the team that went 10-0 to start the season, the Bulls put on a defensive stand and never looked back, overwhelming Ohio 65-54.

Ohio was able to get out to a fast offensive start, but the Bulls quickly matched pace and created a first quarter shootout. Cassie Oursler had big opening minutes to stuff two layups as JoAnna Smith and Stephanie Reid each sent shots in to round out the Power-Trio.

Once that first quarter ended, Ohio quickly became a shell of what they were. UB executed the priceless formula that wins them so many games: Hold the opponent under 60, disrupt their leading scorer, and destroy on rebounding.

For Ohio, the only player who could really score the ball was Quiera Lampkins. But, that 22 points isn’t so pretty when the box score indicates that she wen 7-24 from the field. Lampkins bricked a ton of shots, and Ohio’s offense suffered.

UB’s offense flourished in unusual fashion, as four scorers hauled in 63 of the Bulls’ 65 points. The most welcomed performance of the night came from freshman Summer Hemphill. Putting in extensive effort on every defensive possession, the Buffalo native pulled down an insane 17 boards on the night to help UB win the rebounding advantage. Not only was she a force defensively, but she turned on her offense as well, sinking 15 points before the game’s end.

Leading the way along with Hemphill was a dominant effort by the one and only Stephanie Reid. Getting to the charity stripe with ease, Reid brought in nearly half of her 21 points by drawing fouls and getting into the lane. Rounding out the other scorers were JoAnna Smith’s 18 points and Cassie Oursler’s 9.

Moving to 9-6 in the MAC, the Bulls have already reached a better conference mark than a year prior. Buffalo now waits for their next opponent to arrive at Alumni Arena when they take on the Falcons of Bowling Green on Saturday. That game will tip-off at 1:00 PM and air on ESPN3.