UB is 14-2 (3-2). Miami is 10-5 (3-2). The teams are tied in the MAC standings with 3 other teams for spots 3 through 7. Big game for both teams.
Buffalo played a very soft nonleague schedule and went 11-0, playing 9 G5 teams almost all from lesser conferences plus two lower level teams. They beat Troy by 2 at home in the Sun Belt/MAC Challenge vs the one very good team that they played. Their losses were at Kent 82-73 and home vs Ball State 78-56.
UB is 29 and 21 all time vs Miami and the domination came during the great run they had before their coach left for Syracuse and took the MAC POY and the FOY with her. We lost 15 straight to them during that time. We did win up there 2 years ago, the last time we played in Buffalo, In our only meeting last year in Oxford we lost a close game when they hit two 3’s at the shotclock buzzer in the last two minutes.
Head coach Becky Burke has quickly rebuilt an empty roster which she inherited and with a huge upset over regular season champion Toledo last year made it to the MAC championship game. She was the head coach at South Carolina Upstate before Buffalo and gave them a huge improvement in her years there. Last year she brought in Transfer Chellia Watson from Upstate and she finished 4th in the nation in scoring, and also added freshmen Alexa Davis, a powerful 6-0 center and Kirsten Lewis Williams, the MAC FOY. This year she brought in 5-6 Noelani Cornfield from Southern Miss and 5-9 Terah Harness from Marshall. That is a very quick and athletic starting lineup.
Miami is first in scoring defense and first in steals in the MAC. Buffalo is right behind us in scoring defense and first in forced turnovers. Enj and Tamar are one-two in the MAC in 3 pt %. Amber is 5th in rebounds, blocks, and fg% and 19th in scoring.
Earlier today in the first game of a DH at Ball State, the Cardinals blew out Akron. Akron was down to 7 girls and added a couple of students, one who had just exhausted her volleyball eligibility.
Miami off to a good start with an 18-11 lead after 1. Enj scored 8 of our first 10 but UB started doubling on her and she hasn’t scored since. Cori Lard with 5 points off the bench. Once again Amber Tretter has taken herself out of the game with 2 fouls in about 3 minutes. Probably won’t see her at all in the second quarter.
32 to 22 at the half. We are a little shaky with our ballhandling as the Bulls are quicker and very aggressive. Cori Lard with 8 points has been big. We got away with only having Tretter for around 3 minutes. Chellia Watson, the leagues leading scorer, has only 2 points.
Defense has been great, holding Buffalo to 26 % shooting and forcing bad shots and turnovers. I think Amber’s awkwardness sometimes causes her to fall into fouls.
39-29 Miami as Watson has woken up. Tretter got her third trying to take a charge. She now has played about 5 minutes, does have 5 points. This half they are getting better shots, other than Tamar we are shooting well.
51-50 Miami with UB going to the line with just under 5 minutes to go. Williams-Lewis has 26 as she goes to the line. Giness has 9 steals but just got injured. Tretter just picked up her 4th foul. We look to have lost all confidence.