Shorthanded Bulls Lose First Conference Game

Foul trouble and weak shooting plagued the UB Women’s Basketball Team against Toledo, and Buffalo wound up losing 75–66. It was their first conference loss, making their record 11–5 overall and 5–1 in the MAC.

Buffalo got a very strong performance from sixth year senior Summer Hemphill, who scored 20 points on 8-for-15 shooting in 30 minutes of playing time, and pulled down 10 rebounds. But other than Hemphill, Buffalo struggled to score, as the rest of the team was 2-for-14 from beyond the three point line, and shot 28.3% from the floor.

The Bulls fell behind by 16 late in the third quarter, but finished the quarter on a 7–0 run to cut the Toledo lead to 9. Junior guard Dyaisha Fair, who had been ineffective, was on the bench during this run.

A basket by Hemphill started the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to 7, but then Hemphill picked up her fourth foul. At this point, Buffalo coach Felisha Legette-Jack gambled and left Hemphill in the game, but less than a minute later, Hemphill picked up her fifth foul, and Fair returned to the court.

Buffalo managed to cut the lead to 3 with 3:10 left, using two baskets (one of them from beyond the arc) and two free throws by junior guard Dominique Camp, and some free throws by Fair and junior guard Nia Jordan. But then Toledo scored the next 7 points, putting the game out of reach for the Bulls.

Fair had a very weak game, shooting just 4-for-20, and did not pick up a basket from the middle of the second quarter until the meaningless basket with 0:14 left in the fourth quarter. She finished with 14 points. Freshman guard Georgia Woolley had 13 points plus 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Camp had 4 assists and 5 steals while playing all 40 minutes.

Buffalo next plays at Ohio on Monday, January 24 at 7pm (ESPN3). Ohio’s Cece Hooks became the MAC’s all-time leading scorer over the weekend.

Notes:

• Jordan played 16 minutes in the game, largely due to foul trouble on the front line (Hemphill and senior forward Ade Adeyeye were both in foul trouble in the second half, and junior forward Loren Christie was ineffective). Jordan had played just 2 minutes in previous MAC games. She finished 0-for-4 from the floor, but 4-for-6 from the free throw line.
• Freshman forward Saniaa Wilson was in uniform and available to play for the first time all season. She had been unavailable because of a hip injury.
• According the radio broadcast, sophomore guard Cheyenne McEvans is out for the season.
• The Toledo announcers on ESPN had high praise for Woolley, saying she was destined to be one of the MAC scoring leaders in the future.