Sunday's Scoreboard
Buffalo 73, American 55
Binghamton 78, Eastern Michigan 67
Stories Courtesy of MAC Sports Information
Buffalo 73, American 55
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA, PA – The University at Buffalo women's basketball team cruised to their second straight win with a 73-55 victory over American in the final game of the Hawk Classic at Hagan Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Senior Theresa Onwuka led the Bulls with 18 points while Elea Gaba recorded her first career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Dyaisha Fair also scored 12 points, Jessika Schiffer tied her career-high with nine points and Hanna Hall and Marissa Hamilton recorded eight points apiece.
The Buffalo offense was clicking in the early going, as four different Bulls contributed to spark a 14-2 run to start the game. Jade Edwards knocked down a three to end a four minute Eagles scoring drought and cut the UB lead to 14-5 at the media timeout. American would continue on a 6-2 run out of the media to cut the lead to 16-11 but Hamilton found Keowa Walters on the block for the easy bucket in the final minute of the quarter to give UB an 18-11 lead at the end of the first.
The balanced offensive effort continued as Buffalo put together a 7-2 run to start the second quarter and take a 25-13 lead at the 7:39 mark. The two teams would then trade mini 4-0 runs and UB would maintain a 29-20 lead at the media timeout. Buffalo would pull away out of the media as they blitzed the Eagles with an 11-0 run, highlighted by a Schiffer three and a pair of nifty buckets by Onwuka, to take a 40-20 lead at the half. Buffalo shot a blistering 55.6% from the floor in the opening half, while going a perfect 9-of-9 from the charity stripe.
The UB offense slowed to start the third as the Bulls were held without a field goal for the opening couple minutes before Fair came up with the steal and converted the fastbreak layup to give UB a 44-22 lead at the 7:01 mark. American would respond with an 8-2 run to cut the lead to 16 before Gaba finished strong underneath to put the Bulls up 48-30 at the media timeout. Schiffer drilled a three from the corner on the first possession out of the media to spark a 5-0 run and put UB up 53-33. The Eagles would claw back as they put together a 10-3 run to cut the UB lead to 56-43 with just over a minute to play in the quarter but Onwuka converted a pair of free throws to limit the damage and give the Bulls a 58-43 lead through three quarters of play.
Hamilton gave the Bulls a spark as she drilled a triple from the top of the key off the assist from Schiffer to give UB a 63-45 lead early in the fourth. The Eagles answered with a mini 5-0 run to cut the lead to 13 but Hamilton and Hall responded with back-to-back threes to put UB up 69-50 at the 5:36 mark and that would be enough for the Bulls to secure the 18-point victory.
Buffalo shot 47.5% from the floor and a perfect 11-of-11 from the charity stripe. The Bulls won the rebounding battle for the second straight game, 43-32, while outscoring the Eagles 36-24 in the paint and turned 22 American turnovers into 21 fastbreak points.
The 55 points scored by American were tied for the fewest given up by the Bulls defense this season. Buffalo is now a perfect 43-0 over the last three years when holding opponents to 59 points or less.
Buffalo wraps up their road trip at Big 4 rival St. Bonaventure on Saturday, December 7, at 12pm.
Binghamton 78, Eastern Michigan 67
Box Score
VESTAL, N.Y. (EMUEagles.com) – On the court for the first leg of a two-part, non-conference road trip, the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team fell, 78-67, to Binghamton University today, Dec. 1, at the BU Events Center.
Eastern (2-5) was led by redshirt junior guard Areanna Combs (Oklahoma City, Okla.-Putnam City West (Oklahoma State)), who scored 29 points on 10-of-21 shooting in her EMU debut. Despite her efficient scoring effort, and her team-leading seven boards, the Eagles were unable to keep pace with Binghamton (8-0), who remained unbeaten with its victory.
First quarter shooting troubles, including just an 18.8 percent clip by the Green and White, contributed to an early deficit for EMU, which found itself trailing by 10, 20-10, at the end of the first frame. Impactful from the beginning, Combs paced the squad with six early points. Team scoring leader, freshman Aaliyah Stanley (Boynton Beach, Fla.-Oxbridge Academy) added three points when she dropped-in her team-best 14th triple of the season with just 29 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Despite the deficit, EMU opened the second quarter with clear determination, cutting the lead to five, 29-24, with 2:27 to play in the half. Down, 29-18, the Eagles went on a six-point run, sparked by back-to-back three-pointers from junior guard Courtnie Lewis (Belton, Mo.-Belton), and Stanley.
Binghamton was able to snatch the momentum right back, closing the half on a 5-to-1 run and taking a seven point lead, 34-27, into the locker room.
The second half saw improved play from both teams. After quickly regaining a double-digit advantage, 38-28, Binghamton was met by a 6-0 EMU run. Junior Autumn Hudson (Richwood, Ohio-North Union) contributed a key bucket in that span, combining with jumpers from Combs and Lewis to get the Eagles back in the game. The Bearcats again counter-punched, opening up an 18-point lead by the end of the quarter, 62-44.
Despite outscoring BU, 23-16, in the fourth quarter, including a 10-point final-period effort from Combs, the Eagles were unable to mount a successful comeback, falling, 78-67, in the Sunday morning showdown.
Following today's game, Eastern will have nearly one week to prep for its next opponent, Wichita State. The game between the Eagles and Shockers is scheduled to tipoff at 3 p.m. (2 p.m. CT) from Charles Koch Arena, in Wichita, Kan. For the most up-to-date information on all things EMU women's basketball, follow the team on social media, at @EMUWBB, or visit EMUEagles.com
