Seniors Lead Bulls on Senior Day

Led by seniors Adebola Adeyeye and Summer Hemphill, Buffalo exploded in the second half against Bowling Green, breaking open a 35–35 halftime tie, giving Buffalo an 81–62 victory.

Hemphill, now in her sixth year because of missing a year due to an injury, and getting an extra year because of COVID, was a perfect 8-for-8 from the floor, and 2-for-2 from the free throw line, for 18 points, and grabbed 12 rebounds. A typical Summer Hemphill performance, made more memorable in that it came on senior day. Adeyeye, coming off her career high 17 points in the previous game, had 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting, plus 8 rebounds and 4 steals.

Buffalo junior Loren Christie, the other front row player getting regular playing time, continued her strong play of late, picking up 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting, and grabbed 6 rebounds. The Bulls scored 44 points in the paint, continuing a string of several games where they have absolutely dominated (and won the game) in the paint.

Freshman guard Georgia Woolley scored a team high 20 points, using 12-for-13 shooting from the free throw line. Woolley had 8 rebounds and six assists. Junior guard Dominique Camp had 7 assists. Senior guard Jazmine Young had 9 points and 3 assists.

And thus the Bulls put up 81 points, largely without scoring from junior guard Dyaisha Fair, who is the team’s leading scorer this year. Fair scored a basket on the second possession of the game and did not score after that. In fact, Fair, who usually gets to the free-throw line regularly, did not attempt a free throw.

This has been a trend for the Bulls lately, players stepping up when someone else doesn’t score much. This, plus the other trend, the aforementioned dominance in the paint, are both very positive signs that the Bulls are playing well as they head into the MAC tournament.

But, one area of concern remains, that being three point shooting. Buffalo was just 2-for-13 from beyond the arc. Woolley, who looked like she was becoming a real weapon from three point territory earlier in the season, now finds herself in a terrible slump, going 4-for-33 in her last six games.

Buffalo, the #2 seed, plays #7 Western Michigan next, in the first round of the MAC Tournament. That game will be Wednesday, March 9 around 4pm (the time of the game may change depending on whether or not earlier games take more than the allotted two hours) at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, OH. All first round games will be streamed on ESPN+.

Christie gets credit for the Play of the Game™, receiving a pass to the right of the basket, took a dribble towards the other side of the basket and then with her back to the basket, reached over her head and then banked the ball in, sort of a backwards hook shot off the glass.

Notes:

• Fair ends the season leading the MAC in scoring at 23.1 points per game. Woolley finishes the season at 14.1 points per game, to lead all MAC freshmen.
• Hemphill finishes third in the MAC in rebounding at 10.2 per game. Her career high is 10.3 rebounds per game, set in the 2018-2019 season.
• Buffalo tied the school record with 16 MAC wins, previously set in their Sweet 16 season (2017–2018).
• Buffalo coach Felisha Legette-Jack now has 199 victories at Buffalo.
• Highlight reel: you can see the play by Christie at about 0:43