Bulls Run Out of Gas Against Ohio

The UB Women’s Basketball Team jumped out to a 13–0 lead, eventually pushed the lead to 16, and then ran out of gas. Ohio came back, took the lead in the fourth quarter, and then held off the Bulls, and the Bulls lost 68–66. Buffalo is now 11–6 and 5–2 in the MAC.

Both teams entered the game with a very short bench, and used only six players for most of the game. In addition, both teams were playing a lot of games in a very short time; both teams did their best to avoid fouling, and no one was in serious foul trouble throughout the game. However, many of Buffalo’s shots in the second half were short, a possible indication of fatigue, while Ohio shot very well during the second half.

The Bulls’ offense was very effective in the first half, jumping out to a 13–0 lead, and eventually pushing the lead to 16 with 5:31 left in the second quarter, before ending the half with a 41–31 lead. Buffalo also out-rebounded Ohio by 6 for the half.

In the third quarter, Buffalo’s offense only managed 10 points, and Buffalo’s lead was trimmed to one point, as neither sixth-year senior Summer Hemphill and junior guard Dyaisha Fair scored in the quarter.

However, the lead would disappear midway through the fourth quarter as Ohio guard Kaylee Bambule hit back-to-back three pointers to give the Bobcats their first lead at 60–57 with 6:26 left. Shortly thereafter, Buffalo’s senior forward Ade Adeyeye left the game with an injury and did not return, worsening Buffalo’s depth problem.

And from then on, Ohio never trailed. Buffalo cut the Ohio lead to 1 point as Fair made a three-pointer with 0:16 left. After an Ohio free-throw, Buffalo had two shots to tie or win the game, but freshman guard Georgia Woolley missed a three pointer, and then junior guard Dominique Camp grabbed the rebound and her bank shot did not drop.

Woolley led the team in scoring with 15 points, but did not have a good night shooting (6-for-18). Hemphill had 12 points and also 9 rebounds. Adeyeye had 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting, and 10 rebounds.

Fair played all 40 minutes, and only scored 10 points. She looked hesitant, and did not display the usual bursts of speed and aggressiveness on offense. She shot 4-for-17 and did not score in the second half until 0:16 left. You would not have recognized her as the MAC’s leading scorer, nor as an All-American candidate.

Ohio’s Cece Hooks became the MAC’s all-time leading scorer over the weekend, picked up a game high 20 points. Buffalo, wary of foul trouble, packed the defense inside the semi-circle against Hooks, giving her essentially un-contested 10 foot jump shots whenever she was in the paint. For some reason, Hooks only took one such 10 foot jump shot, that very late in the game.

Buffalo plays Ball State at Alumni Arena on Wednesday, January 26 at 7pm (ESPN+).

Notes:

• Buffalo shot 4-for-23 from beyond the arc.
• Ohio out-rebounded Buffalo 40–38 for the entire game, another sign that Buffalo ran out of gas late, as the Bulls had a big rebounding margin in the first half.
• Ohio picked up only 6 fouls. Buffalo was called for 9 fouls before the last minute when Buffalo had to foul.