January 26, 2025

Summer Hemphill (Seneca) Scored 28 Points while adding 10 rebounds in Buffalo’s Win over Syracuse

Buffalo Bulls Communications

PARADISE ISLAND, BAHAMAS – The dynamic duo of Dyaisha Fair and Summer Hemphill (Seneca Nation) combined for 62 points to pace the University at Buffalo women’s basketball team to an 88-79 victory over Syracuse in the final game of the Bad Boy Mowers Women’s Battle 4 Atlantis tournament on Monday night.

It is the first Power 5 win for UB since 2019 when the Bulls defeated Rutgers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It is the first non-conference Power 5 win since Buffalo took down Clemson at the San Juan Shootout in 2017.

“What a great team win,” said head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. “From the beginning we made a decision that we were going to dictate, play as a unit and make the extra pass and we did it for the entire game. I love the way we came together and played as a unit. I can’t say enough about Summer and Dyaisha but the way Jazmine played and Loren and Cheyenne and Ade and how they stepped up, it was just remarkable and I think we will continue to get more players involved.”  

Fair led all scorers with 34 points on 11-of-15 shooting to go along with four rebounds and five assists. Hemphill recorded her second straight double-double as she set a new career-high with 28 points while adding 10 rebounds for her second straight double-double. Junior Jazmine Young also scored in double figures with 10 points to go along with two rebounds, six assists and six steals.

The Bulls offense was clicking early as Fair connected on a corner triple on UB’s first possession and Hemphill would heat up from there scoring nine of Buffalo’s first 13 points to give the Bulls a 13-7 lead at the first media timeout. The Orange answered with an 8-0 run to regain the lead before Adebola Adeyeye got an easy layup to tie the game at 15 and later Fair and Young would knock down back-to-back threes to give UB a 23-22 lead at the end of the first.

Fair knocked down a triple on the opening possession of the second quarter, but the Buffalo offense would stall, and Syracuse would capitalize with an 8-0 run to take a 30-26. The Bulls answered as Fair and Hemphill knocked down a pair of threes and Young picked a pass and scored in transition to cap an 8-0 run and give the Bulls a 37-33 lead and force an Orange timeout at the 4:53 mark. The Bulls would extend the run to 15-3 as Fair knocked down another three and Loren Christie scored on two straight possessions to put UB up 44-36 and they would lead 48-44 at the break.

The Bulls defense locked down the Orange to start the third quarter as they held SU without a basket for three minutes and used a 6-0 run to take a 56-46 lead at the 6:12 mark. Buffalo extended the run to 13-2 as Hemphill scored five straight points and Fair knocked down a mid-range jumper to give the Bulls a 63-58 lead at the media timeout. Syracuse used a 6-0 run to cut the lead to nine but Hemphill answered with another triple to put UB back up double digits and later, Fair would slice to the basket and lay it in at the buzzer to put UB up 70-58 at the end of the third. The Bulls shot a blistering 71% from the floor in the third quarter.

It was a slow start to the fourth quarter for the Bulls before McEvans skied up for the offensive rebound putback for UB’s first field goal at the 7:43 mark. The Orange then scored on their next three possessions to cut the Buffalo lead to 77-71 at the final media timeout. Later, after Young was fouled in the backcourt, SU head coach Vonn Read was called for a technical foul and Young and Fair went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe to give UB an 82-71 lead with four minutes to play and the Orange would get no closer than eight points as the Bulls secured the victory.

Buffalo shot 48% from the floor, including 59% from beyond the arc. The Bulls outrebounded the Orange 40-34, including 17 offensive rebounds which they turned into 15 second chance points. UB also scored 30 points in the paint and scored 23 points off SU turnovers.