by BUFFALO, NY – Four Bulls scored in double figures as the University at Buffalo women’s basketball team earned a hard-fought 75-70 win over Miami (OH) on Senior Day at Alumni Arena on Wednesday. With the win the Bulls improve to 13-8 overall and 10-6 in league play. UB has now recorded 10 or more MAC wins in four of the last five seasons.
Sophomore guard Dyaisha Fair led Buffalo with a game-high 21 points to go along with four rebounds and seven assists. Freshman Cheyenne McEvans narrowly missed out on a double-double, recording a career-high 20 points to go with nine rebounds, two assists, four steals and two blocks. Junior Adebola Adeyeye also scored in double figures with 12 points and seven rebounds and redshirt senior forward Summer Hemphill (Seneca Nation) recorded her first double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds while dishing out three assists.
Hemphill made an immediate impact scoring on the first possession of the game. The two teams would then trade baskets before three straight baskets by Adeyeye and Fair gave UB a 13-8 lead at the first media timeout. Offense would be at a premium for the Bulls coming out of the timeout before Elea Gaba ended a two-plus minute UB scoring drought with a hook shot in the paint to give Buffalo a 17-12 lead at the end of the first.
The RedHawks would open the second quarter on a 7-2 run to tie the game at 19 before back-to-back baskets by Adeyeye and McEvans would stop the run and give the Bulls a 23-19 lead at the media timeout. Miami would answer with a 7-0 run to take a 26-24 lead with just over a minute to play before Fair ended the UB scoring drought on a driving layup and Buffalo would take a 27-26 lead at the half.
The Bulls scored four quick points to start the third quarter and force an early Miami timeout. Later, Jessika Schiffer drained a three and Adeyeye scored on back-to-back possessions to give UB a 38-29 lead at the 7:52 mark. Miami then answered with a 6-2 run to cut the UB lead to 40-35 at the media timeout. The RedHawks would extend their run to 10-2 on back-to-back baskets by Peyton Scott to cut the lead to one, but the Bulls would answer with a 7-2 run, capped by a dime from Fair to Keowa Walters on the block, to give Buffalo a 47-41 lead at the end of the third.
Miami scored on two straight possessions to start the fourth quarter but Hemphill answered with a pair of buckets of her own to give UB a 51-45 lead at the 8:04 mark. Miami would cut the lead to one at the 5:03 mark before a 5-0 UB run gave the Bulls a 60-54 lead at the 4:34 mark. Back-to-back buckets by Hemphill and Adeyeye put UB up by eight points and later, McEvans got the basket and the foul to maintain a three possession lead. Miami would fight hard as Abbey Hoff knocked down a three to cut the lead to three with 31 seconds to go but it would not be enough as the Bulls sealed the game from the charity stripe, going 4-of-6 from the line in the final minute to secure the victory.
Buffalo scored a season-high 52 points in the paint while also holding a 44-32 advantage on the glass, including 13 offensive boards which UB turned into 12 second chance points. The Bulls recorded nine steals, scoring 17 fastbreak points off those picks, while also scoring 11 points off of 14 RedHawks turnovers.
“It’s an incredible feeling to see Summer out there after almost two years of not playing and all the ups and downs that she has gone through, and then for her to grab the final rebound to secure the win, that is all God’s blessing,” said head coach Felisha Legette-Jack, who recorded her 175th win in Buffalo tonight. “I think you haven’t seen the best of us yet. Credit to a really well-coached Miami team but I just thought that our talent was better than their talent and although we made some mistakes defensively at the end but we will enjoy this win tonight and get better tomorrow.”
